Perfect Mafia Princess
by mmads13
Summary: A union between the Irish and Italian mafia will shake Chicago and change the lives of everyone involved. But what does it mean for Bella, the daughter of a respected mafia man? It's a tale of lust, hate, jealousy, passion and how she finds herself in this new world of drugs, crime and power.
1. Chapter 1

_AN: Since Shopping for Blood has been deleted, I figured it was time to post another story. I'm currently working on another FSoG FanFic that should be posted in the future, for those of you that are interested. Anyways, each chapter of this story has a theme song, which sort of sets the mood of each chapter. Please let me know if you guys like it! I don't own Twilight or the songs, blah, blah, blah. _

The Age of Consent- New Order

I was tapping my foot in time to the beat of the pulsating dance music that blocked all outer sound out and created a bubble in my closet. Spinning easily in socks against the dark, modern hardwood floors, I faced myself and held my hair brush up to my mouth and began to sing along to the words.

"So if you're lonely

You know I'm here waiting for you

I'm just a crosshair

I'm just a shot away from you

And if you leave here

You leave me broken, shattered, I lie

I'm just a crosshair

I'm just a shot, then we can die

I know I won't be leaving here with you..."

I paused to begin playing the air guitar with my hair brush that doubled as a microphone. My long brown hair was being whipped around as I moved my head to the beat and began to jump, getting really into it.

"I say don't you know

You say you don't know

I say... take me out!"

"Bella! Rosalie's here!" I heard my mom yell from the open door to my bedroom. I dropped the hair brush and ran downstairs, not caring if I was still dressed in Nike tube socks and an oversized white button up shirt, my hair an absolute mess. With Rose, you could make a huge effort and still not look remotely pretty while standing next to her. I flew down the last two stairs of the grand staircase that opened right into the foyer and right into Rose's arms.

"I missed you so much!" I practically screamed. It had been a month since we last saw each other. I arrived back from France yesterday after a month and Rose had just returned from visiting her grandparents in Ireland for a few weeks.

"Cute clothes, Bell," she laughed sarcastically, hugging me back with just as much enthusiasm.

"I've been going crazy with just Alice for company. Plus I have so much to tell you," I explained dragging her up the stairs.

"It's good to see you too, Mrs. Swan!" Rosalie called out behind her.

"It's Renee, Rose!" my mom called after her.

"Kiss ass."

"Oh, yeah as if you don't do that with my parents. I can't for the life of my think why they like you. Oh wait! I know! You suck up to them."

I snorted and she giggled.

We continued up the grand floating stairs in the glass stairwell. It's possible to see the bolts through the glass where the pieces of dark wood were secured to the glass on the outside. To anyone on the outside, all they can see are the bolts and the reflective surface of the bullet proof and shatter proof glass. After continuing up past the next two floors, we reached the top floor, or my room.

"Dang Bella, this room is huge! Your house is incredible. Remind me to tell your mother that later," she said with a wink as she took in the lofty room and it's amazing view of the city of Chicago sprawled out below. It was a cloudy day in the middle August, just a weekend before I was due to start my junior year in high school.

"Yeah, it's not bad," I said plonking down on the light blue couch that was surrounded by packing boxes. "I'm really nervous Rose."

"Why Bella? I mean, you the Queen in Forks, and I'm pretty positive you will be here too. People respect our family, especially now that Maggie and Alec are married. I know it's a huge change, but we are all family now and we will take care of you."

"I know, I know. It's just the prospect of restarting. I have to catch up, make myself known, worry about people competing with me and all that shit. I don't want to be the weird new girl. I want to be the girl that walks down the hall and everyone says 'Damn that new girl, she's perfect!'"

"I get it Bella, I really do. We are sisters, well distant cousins-in-law, and everyone is family now. Our families are no longer enemies. Let me help you unpack. I'm dying to get into that giant walk-in closet of yours!"

Rosalie was a gift. I was blessed when I met her. After the Irish mafia king was sent to jail, the entire organization approached the Italian mafia. It was all over the news and I was no longer the ignorant 15 year old that refused to pay attention to all of the signs. At first, I naïvely tried to ignore it, but I knew deep down that my father and mother were in the Italian mafia. I was forced to speak Italian at home and with all family, but I could also speak gaelic, and Rose was forced to speak gaelic but could speak Italian. We realized, along with other girls our age that we met at the wedding that we all learned to shoot a gun as soon as we were 4 and that we weren't related, just lots of immediate and extended families claiming we were all sisters and brothers. And the arranged marriage between Maggie and Alec, Irish and Italian, was just the tip of the iceberg. Newspapers were speculating about the possible domination of the newly formed mafia powerhouse and what it could mean for the United States and the city of Chicago.

After about an hour of unpacking and organizing my room, we were finally finished and about to sit down and talk, when I heard an annoying nasally voice come from the door.

"Bella," Alice whined. "Why didn't you tell me Rose was here?"

"It's Rosalie, Alice," Rose said, annoyed at my fourteen year old sister.

Alice waved her off. "Mamma sta per essere arrabbiata quando scopre che non mi hai detto che era qui! Lei è anche amico mio e siamo sorelle ora. Fermare monopolizzavano lei!" she whined. [Mom is going to be mad when she finds out you didn't tell me she was here! She's my friend too and we are sisters now. Stop hogging her!]

"Solo perché sei sorelle, non significa che siete amici. Tu non sai niente Alice, e si prega di lasciare. Andate a gridare alla mamma. Sono sicuro che le piacerebbe conoscere la vostra scatola segreta piena di vostri diari e le cose che si scrivono su di noi," I said, rolling my eyes at Rose, who just looked amused, but clearly understood everything. [Just because you are sisters, doesn't mean you are friends. You know nothing Alice, and please leave. Go and cry to Mom. I'm sure she'd love to hear about your secret box full of your journals and the things you write about us.]

I turned to Rose. "Tá sí chomh soineanta, agus ba mhaith liom áit sé fanacht go bhealach. Ach Dia tá sí chomh dúr. Tá súil agam go bhfaigheann sí an teachtaireacht agus fágann luath. Dia, Rose d'iarr sí orm cad a bhí gnéas nuair a bhí muid sa Fhrainc, ag éileamh nach raibh siad ag múineadh i scoil. Dia, cad a chur le comhrá a bhí." [She's so innocent, and I'd rather it stay that way. But god she's so stupid. I hope she gets the message and leaves soon. God, Rose she asked me what sex was when we were in France, claiming they didn't teach it in school. God, what a conversation that was.]

"Uimh! Ní féidir liom a chreidiúint é. Sin hilarious. Oh mo dhia," Rose said in between laughs. [No! I can't believe it. That's hilarious. Oh my god.]

"You know it's really rude Bella," Alice said, glaring at me.

"Well maybe you should have asked Daddy to teach you gaelic then," I sneered as she left the room.

"Listen Bell, Jasper is here, and I have to go, but we will pick you up for church tomorrow at 7. Remind your mom that you are coming over for Sunday dinner, and don't be late," she said, as we walked down the stairs.

"Okay. Love you Rose."

"Love you too Bell!"

I shut the door and sighed, and realized that Jasper, her older brother probably saw what I was wearing. I giggled to myself, knowing that most girls crush on him and that I don't even care that I'm in a shirt and calf socks. I began to trek back upstairs and I paused at the entrance to my room. It looked incredible. A giant king sized bed with a modern canopy was directly against the wall of glass and on the left wall in between the doors to my bathroom and closet was the light blue couch, white fur rug and metal and glass coffee table. Directly across from that was my white lacquer desk that matched the bed frame and the light blue sheets that matched the couch. Splashes of yellow were all over the room, the walls, the cushions and the art. To my right, on the wall that housed the door to my room, was my lingerie chest that my mom bought me when I 'became a woman'. On the left side of the doorway was a light blue table with a vase of yellow sunflowers. Covering that entire wall were photographs of my friends and I. It made me nostalgic to think that I wouldn't see them for a very long time, now that I was living in Chicago and not Forks.

I walked into my closet and stopped when I reached the floor to ceiling mirror on one of the walls. I had changed a lot over the summer. My hair had grown much longer and was as voluminous and healthy as ever and it nearly reached my waist. My skin had cleared up and I was taller by a few inches, making my already long legs of my five foot nine frame seem much longer. I seemed more mature more grown up, especially when I noticed the definition of my cheek bones and my bright, cerulean eyes.

My grandmother, Marie, or Mamma Swan as we called her, always said that I was gorgeous and that I would one day become stunning, would see me finally tomorrow after many years of separation. She was the one that told me to use my brains and beauty, become the son my father never had, gorgeous and deadly. Mamma S was always going on about how I would be princess one day, and when I found out about our mafia connection, I realized that it might be possible. I sighed as I heard the wall intercom buzz and then heard my mother's voice calling me to dinner.

It was a quiet affair, compared to the normal fast paced conversations we normally had since Dad was still at the 'office'. I knew it was either the strip club or he was with Carlisle and Mr. Hale after purposely eavesdropping on his phone conversations. I knew that Dad was Carlisle's consigliere, or advisor, which meant spending a lot of time with the new boss, Carlisle. Dad's new position in the new mob was the reason we moved, and I was still unsure if I was happy or sad about it. At least I had Rose. If it was just Alice, I would probably die. Alice was sulking after seeing Rose and I together and I knew she would make a huge deal out of it tomorrow or in public, in the worst possible place in the world- school.


	2. Chapter 2

AN: So thank you for the review everyone! Most of them, honestly, make me smile and motivate me to write even more. By the way, Alice is the annoying younger sister in all of this, and the reasons will come out...eventually, so please bear with me. I love Alice as a character, and I thought I'd experiment with her being the bad guy for once. Also, I'm trying to explain that Bella has slowly lost her belief in God, but she still agrees that he's out there, but she doesn't worship him like she used to. I don't want to offend anyone, so I apologize if what I'm saying doesn't make sense. I don't own anything you recognize.

Bishop's Robes- Radiohead

I woke up to light streaming through the wall of windows in my bedroom. I glanced at the clock and saw that it was 6:00 am. Groaning, I pulled myself out of bed and trekked towards my expansive white Carrera marble bathroom to begin the process of getting ready for church. It was expected of us to be dressed to perfection for church. Mamma Swan believed it was better than a bar when it came to picking up men. But then again, even in her old age, she was a flirt. I smiled to myself as I pulled my dress out. It would be the first time in a few months that I would see her. I groaned as I realized that Alice would probably follow me around, making subtle digs about my appearance, in hopes that Mamma S would agree with her for once and not me.

I don't remember when Alice and I started butting heads. I showered her with love and attention and tried to teach her everything I could. We were quite close. It was around the time I went to high school that it all changed. I found actual friends and I was known to be perfect, even through the middle school campus that was right next to Forks High. I guess Alice grew to resent me, and I could no longer put up with her bitchy attitude, especially as she tried to make my life miserable.

Shaking my head, and ridding myself of the bad thoughts, I stepped into the royal blue satin shift dress that fell halfway down my thighs. It was rather short, but it hung off my slender frame perfectly and showing off my toned legs and arms. Mamma S would approve. I grabbed a pair of black Jimmy Choo heels, not too tall, but they made me shoot up at least four inches. Plopping down at my vanity, I brushed out my hair and decided to leave it down. I was going all out today, because according to Rose, there would be people there that would join us at school. I kept my make up light and natural, not that I needed it. I applied mascara, making my already thick, dark, long lashes stand out against my pale skin. I grabbed my Valentino bow clutch and threw my keys, phone and lip gloss inside. I opened my safe, and looked at my gun. I had a permit, even as a minor, thanks to a judge my dad bribed. I couldn't hurt right? As I checked myself over in the mirror, I was never more thankful for Mamma S and her mentality and my parents' money. Deep down, I knew I was extremely lucky.

"Mamma! Ho intenzione di guidare lì adesso. Mi piacerebbe parlare con Rose prima di massa, e non dimenticare di cena a casa sua stasera! Ciao, ti amo!" I yelled as I puled open the front door. [Mom! I'm going to drive there now. I'd like to talk to Rose before mass, and don't forget about dinner at her house tonight! Bye, love you!]

I pulled out my phone to quickly call Rose and tell her that I would drive myself to church. I hopped into my new Jaguar and pulled out into the traffic.

There was an open spot next to Jasper's car and I quickly parked and hopped out. I noticed there were groups of people hanging around in circles, some looking unfriendly, but many were watching me as Jasper helped me out of the car and swept me into a hug, kissing my cheek. I had never been more thankful for my sunglasses.

"Hey Jazz," I said, hugging him back.

"I missed you Bella! I was subjected to Rose talking about girly things 24/7 when we were in Ireland. God, it was awful!" He exclaimed, causing Rose to smack him on the arm.

I looked up at Jasper, even though I was in heels. He was muscular, tall and had blonde hair and blue eyes- the epitome of perfection. It was a shame that I didn't see him as more than an older brother.

My attention was captured by a sleek, black Aston come careening into the spot next to my car. I heard the tell tale sound of a scratch and I ran up to the car, pissed off.

"Cazzo! Vaffanculo stronzo! Questa è la mia macchina! Hai colpito la mia auto!" I screamed, drawing more attention to myself. [Fuck! Fuck you asshole! That's my car! You hit my car!]

"Bella! Che cosa è successo? Stai bene?" Rosalie asked as she came running. " Oh. Cazzo, Bella, questa è l'auto che Emmett Cullen, unità figlio di Carlisle. Non ti arrabbiare!" [Bella! What happened? Are you okay? Oh. Fuck, Bella, that's the car that Emmett Cullen, Carlisle's son drives. Don't get him mad!]

"Shut up Rose," I said through gritted teeth as I watched the driver's door open and a giant of a man step out, with dark curly hair and blue eyes. "You hit my car."

"So I did. Sorry about that," he grinned sheepishly.

"Sorry? Sorry? What the fuck are you going to do about it Cullen?" I spat venomously as I stalked towards him.

"Uh, I dunno. Give you a check?" he looked confused. "You know who I am, so you know I have money. I'm good for it, I promise."

"Promise? Why should I trust you? My dad always said, if you have the brains in a situation, you are superior and you should be in control and make the other person pay. So pay Cullen," I seethed, quietly, deadly.

"Are you insulting my intelligence?" he asked, looking pissed off.

"Wow, it took you that long to figure it out. Well done Cullen! It's not about the money, but the principle. See, tomorrow I can't go to school with a dent in my car. And I sure as hell don't want to ride with my mother and my sister. It's the inconvenience that I want payment for. So pay up."

"Fuck you. Who are you anyway?" he growled.

I pulled off my sunglasses, and I guess he recognized me; my father's eyes in my face. "Bella Swan."

"You're Charlie Swan's daughter?" he had the decency to look scared and regretful. "Please don't tell your father about this. I'm a dead man if you do."

"Tell my father? You really think I'm that pathetic that I can't take care of myself. Gee, I'm rather insulted by that. And you still haven't come up with an appropriate payment."

By that point in time, I noticed everyone in the parking lot looking at us, some inching forward to try and hear everything that was said. Some people were looking worried, others angry and speculative.

"What can I do?" he asked.

"This is why my father is the consigliere. You Cullens have no brains," I said.

Everything happened extremely fast after that. Emmett moved to slap me, but I grabbed his arm and pulled, throwing him to the ground.

"Emmett! Íosa Críost! Cad é an fuck atá tú a dhéanamh? Ní féidir leat a bhuail le cailín," said a velvet voice behind me. [Emmett! Jesus christ! What the fuck are you doing? You can never hit a girl.]

"You're right, he can't. He'll never get close enough," I responded, not turning around. You can never turn your back on the enemy, even if they are down. I bent over and whispered in his ear. "I have a gun. I can make your life hell. Do yourself a favor and just get lost."

He stood up and faced the laughing crowd that had moved closer at the promise of a fight. I pulled on my sunglasses again and began to walk towards Jasper. A warm hand on my arm stopped me.

"Remove your hand before I remove it for you," I warned.

"You just hurt my brother," the velvet voice said. I turned to look, up. The hand belonged to an adonis. Or a male model. Perfectly tousled hair, shining copper in the sunlight. Bright green eyes that seemed to capture and hold my gaze even through my dark sunglasses. A classical nose, with a strong jaw line and high cheek bones covered with perfect, smoothly shaved skin. He was like Jasper, muscular, but not overly so. His face was harsh, his eyebrows furrowed down, his eyes blazing. I was momentarily stunned.

"Your asshole brother hurt my car, and then was about to hurt me. It was self defense," I responded, trying not to let the contact of his hand on my bare skin effect me in anyway.

"True. Emmett doesn't have a brain. And, I have a solution. I'll drive you to school. I believe you are attending Chicago Day Academy," he said.

"Yes. Thank you," I said, not really sure what to say.

"I'm Edward Cullen, Emmett's fraternal twin," he said, taking my hand and raising it to his lips.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, but I think it's time to go inside. I'll see you tomorrow at 7:45. Don't be late," I said, linking my arm with Rose's and dragging her into the church with me.

"Bella, you realize that Edward Cullen doesn't show an interest in anyone. We all think he's gay. Just be careful, alright?"

"Thanks Rose, but I think I'll be okay-"

"Isabella Marie Swan!" a sharp voice called out as soon as we walked in.

"Mamma S!" I called out running towards where the stunningly beautiful old lady with the same eyes as me was sitting in the front pew. "How are you?"

"Me? Old, wrinkly. But you, my dear, are stunning. My, my. You are gorgeous. And you know I wouldn't say that if I didn't mean it. I love that color on you!" She continued loudly and I saw Edward smirking as he sat down in the pew on the other side of the aisle.

"Mamma S, ho avuto l'incontro più strano con Edward Cullen. Mi puoi dire di più su di lui dopo?" I asked, knowing that Edward could probably understand. [Mamma S, I had the strangest encounter with Edward Cullen. Can you tell me more about him later?]

"Certo. Ho già detto come stupefacente la tua figura è diventata? I tuoi seni sono piuttosto accattivante ora," she said matter-of-factly, causing me to blush. [Of course. Did I mention how amazing your figure has become? Your breasts are rather eye catching now]

The bishop walked up to the front and began mass.

I wasn't paying attention. I never paid attention. Once I realized what my family was and what we did for a living, I realized that there was no god. In my mind, this was all a show to justify our behavior, making us seem like we could be pardoned for our sins and seem like good citizens. I didn't see the point. There were to many times when I prayed when I was younger and nothing happened. But maybe that was just me. I may not have been asking correctly, or God wasn't answering to test me. Either way, I stopped going to confession and I stopped wearing my cross necklace.

Mass ended and I linked arms with Mamma S and escorted her out to her car.

"Bella my dear, you have grown up so much. Please take care of yourself and know if you ever want to talk, I'm always open for a phone call. I love you darling. See you next weekend," she said as I leaned down for her to kiss both my cheeks. "And I love the makeup. You don't need to cake it on like some of these girls. If only Alice would learn."

"Don't worry about Alice. She does what she wants. I love you too and I'll call you tomorrow after school."

My phone started ringing before I could close the door. It was the ringtone that I installed for my best friend Angela. She was my counterpart and I knew her family had ties into the mafia, but they never really were involved. I missed her dreadfully, but I was smiling as I answered the phone. My smile vanished as the person on the other line began to speak. Angela and her entire family were killed in a car crash.

No. No. No. No. No. Not Angela. Not the innocent, loving girl that was honest and genuine. Not her mother. Or her father either. I sank to my knees, tears streaming down my face. I took deep breaths and wiped my eyes, before pulling on my sunglasses again. There was nothing I could do. She was gone, and I told her how much she meant to me when I said my goodbye. There was no point in crying anymore. She would go to Heaven and I knew she died having a great life surrounded by people she loved. I would never forget her. Ever.


	3. Chapter 3

AN: The response has been amazing and I want to say thank you for the reviews, follows and favorites. I love hearing from you all. I hope some of you are intrigued by the music choices. I apologize for my errors with the Spanish translation, but I speak French and English so I'm relying on Google here. I don't own anything you recognize.

Feel the Envy- Franz Ferdinand

I stared at my reflection in the mirror. I had circles under my eyes and they were puffy, but at least they weren't red. No matter what I told myself, I still cried over Angela. Today, I couldn't show any type of weakness at all. I managed to do a decent job of concealing them, surprising myself since I didn't have Rose's skills. I kept the rest of my make up light, just like Mamma S told me to. It gave me confidence in my own skin and also showed that I wasn't afraid. It was subtle things like that that would help me to achieve status. I glanced at my dress. It was a floral Tory Burch dress, cerulean to match my eyes and make them pop, pink and yellow which I paired with my taupe Chloe scalloped flats. Today it would be all about designer clothes without giant, obvious brands. Girls that could spot designer clothes without brands were girls that would be my competition. I left my hair down again and grabbed my taupe Salvatore Ferragamo tote that matched my shoes. I was pleased with the way I looked and I took a deep breathe before heading downstairs to wait for Edward.

"Mamma, io sono fuori! Ciao papà! Ci vediamo più tardi. Avere una buona giornata e probabilmente andrò a Rose di o torneremo qui. Ti voglio bene!" I called out. I saw Edward leaning against a silver Aston with darkly tinted windows. [Mom, I'm off! Bye Dad! I'll see you later. Have a good day and I'll probably go to Rose's or we will come back here. Love you!]

My heart jumped in my chest, surprising me, even though I was only looking at him through the peep hole in the door. I pulled it open and smiled when his green eyes caught mine. He looked amazing, in a while button up with the sleeves pushed up and the top button undone and black jeans and expensive looking oxfords.

"Dea-maidin!" I said, as I approached. He raised an eyebrow at me. [Good morning!]

"Dea-maidin a thabhairt duit freisin. Ní raibh a fhios agam labhair tú gaeilge. Tá sé iontas deas," he said, as he pulled the passenger door open for me. [Good morning to you too. I didn't know you spoke gaelic. It's a nice surprise.]

"I do. Fluently. I was taught to be prepared, like I'm sure you were too, especially with Italian. I mean, we were enemies, so it was important to know the language," I said, as he pulled away from the curb.

"That's true. What other languages do you speak?" he asked, looking genuinely interested.

"I'm taking the most advanced level of Spanish this year and I also know some French too. Just enough to get by though."

"I see. I'm taking that Spanish class too. I also speak Chinese, Japanese and French. My father taught me those at a very young age, so it just seems like second nature now."

"I'd like to learn Chinese, but it's too hard. Learning Gaelic was enough of a struggle."

He laughed. "Emmett isn't fluent for that matter. But then again, he can hardly speak English."

"My sister is like that," I said, feeling down suddenly.

"Are you okay after yesterday Bella? I saw you, and I know you don't want sympathy by the way you pulled yourself together so quickly, but I just want to know if you are alright," he said, sounding genuinely concerned as he looked at me with his emerald eyes that made me want to spill my guts to him.

"Yes. My best friend and her family in Washington were killed in a drunk driving accident. I had just received the news."

"I'm sorry."

"She had an amazing life though. And I'm positive she died happy."

"Here we are," he said, pulling into a space that was reserved for him. I knew I had a reserved space somewhere, but I knew it wouldn't be as good as this. Then again, I had a feeling that Edward was the king of the school. "Shall we?"

He walked around the car and opened my door for me and offered me his hand. Instantly, I felt the stares and could actually hear some of the whispers. I looked around and saw girls in dresses, but they all seemed to be last season. That was good.

Edward bent down and whispered in my ear. "You will be queen Bella, and this should help you. Take my arm."

I linked arms with Edward as we strolled towards Jasper's car.

"Hey Bell," Rose said slyly as she hugged me. Jasper followed suit and then shook hands with Edward and Rose hugged him too. People were watching and I knew that Rose and Jasper obviously ran in Edward's close circle due to their father's position and because they had been friends with the Cullen boys since birth. A bell rang and Rose took my arm and began to talk to me in hushed tones.

"Okay. You have made a perfect entrance, and people realize that you are one of us. Watch out for Tanya, Irina and Kate. They are nasty sluts, honestly they have slept with nearly everyone. Their fathers are capos and soldiers, but they think they are the shit. Just be careful and don't let them rile you up. Trust me, they will dig at you. Come on, lets find your locker."

My locker turned out to be next to Rose's and I realized that it was not the traditional metal one. It was wood and everything about it seemed exclusive. I loved the feel of the hallways, pained, with wainscoting and crown molding. I grabbed my books and accompanied Rose to math.

I was ahead in all of my classes. This school didn't offer AP or honor classes, which surprised me, but they made sure that everyone that attended this school was on the same high level academically. But the courses were simple and I had already completed and studied everything. English was the same. And history.

"It's lunch now. We don't have anymore classes together," Rose said as she led me towards the cafeteria. The cafeteria was more like a restaurant with the table cloths and gourmet food that was being cooked by chefs in white hats. It was about the same size as the cafeteria in Forks and the comforted me, knowing that this was not a huge school. I grabbed a sandwich and a bottle of water before following Rose towards the table in the very center of the room.

"And this is where we sit." I looked up to see Edward, Jasper and Emmett already seated. I smiled at them, before gracefully sitting down next to Jasper and Rose.

"Bella, I would like to apologize. I'm really sorry. For everything," Emmett said, empathetically.

I waved him off. "I'm sorry I flipped you."

"Cute dress by the way Bella," he said with a wink that caused everyone to laugh.

We chatted about classes and Emmett's new adventures in class when I heard the sound of heels approaching. I looked up to see three very fake looking girls in front of me. I quirked an eyebrow.

"Yes?" I asked, taking the lead and letting them know I already had power in their group.

"We just wanted to introduce ourselves. I'm Tanya Denali, this is Irina, my sister and Kate Volturi. And you are?" she said with a sneer that contradicted her earlier tone.

"I'm Bella Swan," I said, and I watched as recognition crossed their faces.

"Edward," Tanya tried to purr. And failed. "How long have you known Bella?"

"Only about 24 hours," he responded.

"And you gave her a ride? Do you not have a car?" she sneered at me again.

"Oh, no I do. But you see, Emmett crashed into it at church yesterday, but I assume you weren't there. It's a shame, I would have liked to have met you there. Anyways, I think Edward and Jasper told him to, so that Edward would have an excuse to take me to school," I responded. I knew that they would have to go to church if they even wanted to try and compete with our group.

"Of course," Tanya said, paling under her fake tan. I glanced at her too tight dress and obscene amount of cleavage that was spilling out. She could have showed off her assets tastefully of course, but she failed.

I turned and continued my previous conversation with Rose about the new Chanel fall clothes, and dismissed them. Tanya got the right idea and left.

"Good one Bella! I'd never thought to have given her a dig about church," Jasper said.

I smiled at him. "What classes do you all have next?" I asked, suddenly worried that I might be alone.

"I have science," Emmett said. The beauty of this school was that there was only one teacher for each subject every period.

"Spanish. You are with me," Edward said.

"Okay," I said as the bell rang. "I'll see you all later." I moved to clear my plate, but Edward said that they cleared the tables for us. That was certainly different.

We walked into the Spanish classroom together and Edward greeted the teacher.

"Hola señora! Se trata de Isabella Swan, uno de mis amigos," he said with an amazing smile that left the teacher looking rather frazzled. I tried to stifle a laugh. [Hello Senora! This is Isabella Swan, one of my friends.]

"Es un placer conocerla señora. Estoy bastante emocionado de ser capaz de tomar esta clase como junior. En mi antigua escuela, que no tienen un nivel tan alto, así que estoy muy emocionada de aprender aún más," I said. [It's a pleasure to meet you senora. I'm rather excited about being able to take this class as a junior. At my old school, they didn't have a level this high, so I'm really excited to learn even more.]

"Bueno Bella, espero que esta clase es un reto para usted. Usted parece ser fluido como Edward aquí. Tome asiento y disfrute!" she said, and I liked her instantly. [Well Bella, I hope this class is a challenge for you. You seem to be fluent like Edward here. Take a seat and enjoy!]

Edward led me over to two desks by the window."¿Por qué no me dijiste que estabas con fluidez?" [Why didn't you tell me you were fluent?]

"No tenía idea de que era." [I had no idea I was.]

"Por lo menos podemos hablar y nadie en esta clase entenderemos. Será realmente hacer esta clase de mérito," he said. [At least we can talk and no one in this class will understand. It will actually make this class worthwhile.]

The teacher passed out tests that were supposed to test if we were supposed to be in this level. Edward and I finished before anyone else and the teacher didn't bother grading them.

"Sé que ustedes dos están lo suficientemente avanzados en esta clase, por lo que no media lo que se obtiene hasta en tanto se toman las pruebas unitarias. Usted no tiene que hacer la tarea, y le permitirá hacer lo que quieras en esta clase, siempre y cuando usted no interrumpe todos. A continuación, se perderán estos privilegios," she said. [I know you two are advanced enough in this class, so I don't mid what you get up to as long as you take the unit tests. You don't have to do the homework, and I will allow you to do whatever you want in this class as long as you do no disrupt everyone. Then these privileges will be lost.]

We returned to our desks. "Buille faoi thuairim mé a chiallaíonn gur féidir liom a chleachtadh mo Ghaelach le duine atá níos Gaelaí ná Rose nó Jasper," I whispered. [I guess that means I can practice my gaelic with someone who is more Irish than Rose or Jasper.]

"Tá sé iontach mar a fhios ag aon duine sa rang seo é," he replied, smiling at me. [It's great because no one in this class knows it.]

The class finished and I walked to science, my last class of the day. There was no one I knew in the class, but I had already had many unwanted admirers come and introduce themselves, causing quite a few of the girls to glare at me. It was time to make myself popular with the girls, but let the guys down gently so they would still follow me.

"Listen up. I have a boyfriend, so please, guys look around at all of these lovely single girls that are obviously frustrated that you are all talking to me. Talk to them instead," I said, getting smiles from blushing girls and nods from the guys.

"Are you with Edward?" one girl piped up and then instantly looked embarrassed. "I'm sorry, I don't mean to sound rude..." She looked terrified.

"I'm not going to talk about my personal life, but we are close friends. That's it," I replied with a tight smile. The rest of the class passed easily and I was happy to be dome with the day. I had practically no homework, which was extremely beneficial and I decided to make it my mission to get as far ahead as possible and stay ahead. I had to have the grades if I wanted to focus on ruling.

As I walked towards Edward's car, I saw something that made my stomach flip nervously. Alice was laughing and chatting rather amicably with Tanya and her posse. Shit.


	4. Chapter 4

**AN: The response has been amazing, and I'm really pleased that I am able to update this story so often. I apologize if the first few chapters have been rather dry and confusing, but this is the beginning of everything. Leave a review if you have a question and I'll happily answer it. Enjoy! I still don't own the songs mentioned or the original Twilight characters. Oh, Breaking Bad also inspired one of these characters. **

Under the Bridge- Red Hot Chili Peppers

"Thanks for the ride today Edward. I really appreciate it. I'll see you tomorrow morning at the same time," I said, as he helped me out of the car again.

"Goodbye Bella." The way he caressed my name sent shivers down my spine. I smiled at him, and became lost in his green eyes.

"How tall are you?" I blurted out before I could stop myself or make sure my filter was in place. He smirked at me.

"I'm 6'4," he said looking extremely amused. "Goodbye Bella."

And with that, I turned and walked into Rose's house trying to act normal and take deep calming breaths to slow down my frantically beating heart.

"Well, well, well. What was that Bell?" Rose asked as I walked into her room. Her room was positioned at the front of the house, allowing her to see and watch everything that went on. She was sitting on the floor with her homework spread out on the red carpet, grinning at me suggestively. I couldn't help but blush.

"I don't know what you are talking about," I said, sinking down across from her and leaning against her bed.

"Don't try and deny it. That was Edward Cullen, the most sought after guy flirting with you. Look, you're blushing!" she exclaimed giggling at me.

"Oh shut up Rose. We were just talking and he was being a polite gentleman," I said, trying to deflect it.

"I know what I saw." She was still grinning at me. "Just be careful Bell."

"Why should I be careful? It's not like I don't know about his family or that I've never had a boyfriend before. I'll be fine Rose," I snapped.

"I'm just looking out for you. You know nothing about Edward's reputation or what he has been capable of doing in the past," she said. "He's been a murder suspect twice Bella. He's got a reputation for selling drugs on campus and he's the guy you go if you want help. But there's a price and if you don't pay, you get cut literally."

"Yes, and I'm pretty sure our fathers have killed more than twenty people in their lives too Rose. I know you worry, but seriously, you should worry about your dad. I heard my father and Carlisle talking last week, and it didn't sound good. Watch your back Rose, not mine. I can take care of myself," I said, as I left. I hated fighting with Rose, but she needed to understand that I was aware of everything that was happening. Her father could be in some serious trouble if my dad hadn't stepped in and shot four men for him. Why I was so angry, I had no idea. And then it hit me. It was because of Angela. Anger was one of the stages of grief wasn't it? I let my feet lead me home as I thought about the information the police had given me. It didn't make any sense. The police force in Forks was extremely strict and it was hard to be drunk in public without getting arrested or having the bar owner call you a cab. Someone had to have been targeting them. But who? Why?

Suddenly feeling anxious, I stepped up the pace and arrived home in record time. I flew up into my room after calling out to let my mother know that I was home. I ran to my closet and opened the safe and pulled out the letter that Angela had given me, saying that I 'shouldn't read it and that it was silly'. I opened the envelope and began to read.

_Dear Belly,_

_If you are reading this, then you have not respected my wishes. But if I am gone, then please continue to read. It kills me to write this, but I love you Belly. I knew this day was coming as soon as Daddy told me what connections our family had. We got out, but it was only a matter of time before someone came for us. It could have been an inside job, or one of our enemies, probably the Irish. I had the time of my life being friends with out and I want you to know that I was content with my life. I know you will miss me like crazy, but keep your chin up and remember me like I had to move away for my own safety and can never contact you again. _

_Daddy told me that you father has plans for you in the future and I know that you will become successful, feared and respected; everything you've ever wanted. Live a full life Bella, so when it's time to go, you can be happy about it like me. I love you and I will always watch over you. _

_God bless you, Bella and good luck. Don't try and get revenge. I'd kill you if you did. _

_Love, _

_Angie_

I was crying all over again. I looked at the date and saw that it was written three years ago. She knew this day was coming for three years. God, it was like living with a terminal illness, but at least she wasn't going to suffer. Seeing her actually write that she was happy with her life gave some small comfort. Angela never lied and she was blunt and honest. I decided to believe it. I couldn't help but wonder why she didn't update the letter after the wedding between Maggie and Alec. Maybe it was a clue. Or she didn't change it because it would be too hard for her to read those words again. Either way, I vowed right then, sitting in my closet with tears running down my face that I would avenge her. Eventually. If not for her, for my own sanity and piece of mind.

"Mam, tá mé ag dul le haghaidh a reáchtáil! Is gá dom a fháil amach agus a ghlanadh mo cheann mar sin liom stop a chur ag smaoineamh faoi Angela. Grá agat agus ná coinnigh dinnéar ag fanacht más rud é nach bhfuil mé ar ais," I said in Gaelic fifteen minutes later, dressed for a run. My mom was aware of the Angela situation, but she knew that if she crowded me, I wouldn't take it well. I didn't want Alice to know what happened to Angela because she'd do something to make it worse than it already was. [Mom, I'm going for a run! I need to get out and clear my head so I stop thinking about Angela. Love you and don't keep dinner waiting if I'm not back.]

"Alright grá. Bella, ach a bheith cúramach. Tá do athair buartha fút agus Alice ag dul amach go léir ina n-aonar, le do thoil mar sin a thabhairt do scian le leat. Bata chun príomh-bhóithre agus nach fanacht amach le do thoil luí na gréine caite. Grá agat!" she said, giving me a kiss as I stopped by the kitchen. I looked into her warm brown eyes that were full of love and sorrow and I hugged her back. She was my saving grace, soft, yet firm when she needed to be, but she always let me find myself and do what I needed to do for my own sanity. I told her I knew about our family and she explained everything, comforting me when I broke down. [Alright love. Bella, just be careful. Your father is worried about you and Alice going out all alone, so please bring your knife with you. Stick to main roads and don't stay out past sunset please. Love you!]

It was the number one rule not to run with music blaring in your ears. Anyone could see that you were a sitting duck and you could also get killed by cyclists and cars too. It was too humid in Chicago for my taste, but I dealt with it by only wearing a sports bra. I knew it wasn't the best idea, but people still didn't know what Charlie Swan's daughters really looked like, so I figured I was safe for now. Running with my knife did give me a sense of security that I didn't know I had been missing. Running in general calmed me down and I realized that I shouldn't have snapped at Rose. Knowing her, she was probably feeling guilty, even though she did nothing wrong and our fathers had handled the issue. I ran into a park and sat down on the end of the bench. I pulled out my phone saying I was out running, but that I would be stopping by her house when I was heading home.

"Excuse me, are you Bella?" a deep voice asked.

I looked up at the guy that was sitting on the other side of the bench. He was big, like Emmett sized and he had short brown hair and a gorgeous russet skin tone.

"Yes," I said wearily.

"I don't mean to scare you, but I'm in you science class. My name is Jacob. Jacob Black," he said, blushing.

I smiled at him, trying to get him to get to the point. Before he could continue, his bag fell and my eyes were glued to a plastic bag full of clear crystals. Could it... no, it was too pure. I picked up the baggie as he scrambled to pick up his other things. I saw his report card and noticed his straight A's. And I looked at his clothes and realized he was most definitely a nerd.

He picked everything up and then looked at me holding the bag, his eyes wide.

"I, I- uh," he looked worried and began to look around the park.

"Relax and no one will suspect anything. Jacob, is this what I think it is?" I asked.

"Yes. But don't do anything! Please! I'm trying to sell it so I can stop my mom from using her life savings to send me to college! Don't do anything. Please! You have to understand!" he begged me.

"Jacob, if you come with me, I can introduce you to my father who may be able to help. But if you tell anyone, anything about what has just happened, I will not be afraid to get rid of you. Are you hooked in this stuff?" I asked, knowing my father wouldn't allow cooks to use crystal.

"No. I hate drugs, but I need the money," he responded, looking ashamed.

"Get your stuff and come with me. How do you like Italian food?" I asked him as I linked arms with him. I noticed that he started blushing again when I touched him.

"I don't mind it, but-"

"No buts. You are coming over and meeting my father. But we have to make a quick detour on the way," I explained as we began to walk back to my neighborhood.

I dragged Jacob up the path to Rosalie's house and he looked shocked. "This is your house?"

"Nope. This is Rosalie Hale's," I explained walking in. "Rose!"

She stepped out into the hall and looked at Jacob with a small smirk. Before I could say anything, I heard thunderous steps coming down the stairs and looked up to see Jasper, Emmett and Edward come down.

"What are you doing here?" Jasper asked Jacob.

"He's with me Jazz, a potential business deal with my father," I said waving him away and ignoring the glares that were being sent his way. "Rose, I'm really sorry about earlier. I shouldn't have said that shit about that situation, and I feel really bad. You did nothing wrong, and I'm sorry I got mad at you when you were only trying to warn me."

"It's okay Bell," she said, hugging me.

"Cad é an fuck dhéanann Bella ag iarraidh leis an Guy?" Emmett asked, causing Jasper and Edward to stifle their laughs. [What the fuck does Bella want with this guy?]

"Bhuel ag féachaint ar a pants, ní féidir leis a thairiscint i bhfad. Tá sé ach ar mboilgeog aer, mar sin ní dóigh liom go mór dúinn a bheith buartha faoi sin," Jazz said, causing Edward and Emmett to laugh. And then I lost my cool. [Well looking at his pants, he can't offer much. It's only an air bubble, so I don't think we have to worry about that.]

"Chiudi quella cazzo di bocca adesso Jasper Hale. E anche tu Emmett! Se non lo fai ti tagliare fuori le palle e si può guardare me loro da mangiare ai cani. Lascialo in pace prima che ti costringono a lasciare. Non farmi incazzare più. Sono venuto a chiedere scusa a Rose, non soggetto a Giacobbe di bullismo. Incazzare!" I screamed, causing Jacob to look at me. [Shut the fuck up right now Jasper Hale. And you too Emmett! If you don't I will slice off your balls and you can watch me feed them to the hounds. Leave him alone before I force you to leave. Don't piss me off anymore. I came to apologize to Rose, not subject Jacob to bullying. Piss off!]

"What did she say?" Emmett asked, stupidly.

"You know Emmett, that when Bella is really pissed, she screams in Italian. That's when you know she's about to kill or go for blood. Get Edward to translate it for you," Rose said. "I forgive you Bell. See you tomorrow?"

"Of course. Bye Rose. Love you," I said, kissing her cheek. "None of you deserve a proper goodbye." It was frowned upon not to say goodbye properly in Italian society. It was deemed rude, but I was too pissed at them to care.

We left and I decided to break the awkward silence. "I'm sorry about that Jacob. They don't know when to shut up," I explained.

"What language were they speaking?" he asked.

"Gaelic. They are Irish but Jasper, Rosalie and Edward speak Italian. Emmett tried, but he only knows swear words. I speak fluent Gaelic as well. When you are in my family, you have to. You'll learn some soon enough," i said, dragging him up the path towards my house.

"Your house is even nice," he said, taking in the mirrored glass and wooden and metal beams that made it ultra modern and strong.

"Tell my mom that. Oh and she likes to hug everyone," I said, opening the door.

"Mom! Come and meet Jacob," I called.

She appeared out of the dining room. "Hello Jacob! It's lovely to meet you!" she exclaimed pulling him in for a hug and kissing his cheeks.

"It's lovely to meet you too Mrs. Swan," he said politely.

"Now Jacob, I like you, but that will change if you keep calling me Mrs. Swan. It's Renee."

"Alright Renee." She winked at him and turned to me for an explanation.

"He's here to talk business with Dad. Can us three eat outside?" I asked.

"Of course."

"I'm going to put a shirt on," I said.

"Jacob come and see how real pasta is made," my mom said, dragging him into the kitchen. He left his bag in the hall, and I knew Alice would go through it, so I grabbed the baggie and ran up stairs to change.

"Bella your father and Jacob are already eating outside," my mom said as I came downstairs.

"Grazzi!"

"Ciao papà!" I said, hugging and kissing him. [Hi Daddy!]

"So Jacob was telling me about how you two met," my dad said.

"Oh yes. Well Jacob here has the best crystal I have ever seen and he needs the money to pay for college so he doesn't force his mother to become homeless. He's a straight A student, he hates drugs and he had a good operation in a storage unit under a false name," I explained.

"How do you know-" My dad cut him off.

"May I please see it?" he asked. I pulled the bag out of my pocket and handed it to him. My father, looked at it and nodded. "Jacob, I can tell you are good at chemistry. What would you like to study in university?"

"Biochemistry and cancer research," he said nervously.

"Good. Jacob, we will provide protection, from the law and others and give you an assistant. We will pay for all of the supplies needed for you to cook like this and I will personally create an account in your name, where I will deposit $20,000 each year you agree to cook for us. You will get 45% of the profits and that should be enough for any university and make sure your mom can pay the bills," my dad said, smiling at him. "If your grades drop, I will ban you from cooking, and you will only miss out on the extra profits, not the $20,000. You show promise kiddo and I want you to be able to go Harvard if that's where you want to go."

"Mr. Swan, I- I, thank you so much," Jacob said, shaking his hand.

"Don't thank me. Thank Bella. She was the one that noticed the baggie and saw the promise. Now enjoy your meal and tell me about cancer research," my dad said happily. He winked at me and I saw the pride in his cerulean eyes that matched my own. I knew he would take care of Jacob no matter what, even if the drugs became too much for him to handle. I smiled back and listened to Jacob talk about the latest research with such passion that it made me want to do something like that. My dad liked him.


	5. Chapter 5

**AN: Again, thank you for the reviews! You guys are amazing! I seriously am shocked by the response in such a short amount of time, and I am flattered that a lot of you seem to be enjoying it so much! There are two theme songs for this chapter, one for the the first half, one for the second half. I still don't own anything you recognize. **

Feel the Pressure- Franz Ferdinand

How You Like Me Now- The Heavy

"So what did you want with Jacob?" Edward asked casually in Spanish class the next day.

"He showed some skill that my father would find very valuable and lucrative," I said, and Edward nodded in understanding.

"I'm sorry we were dicks to him yesterday. He didn't deserve that."

"No he didn't but if you can tell, I'm more pissed off at Jazz and Em than you. Oh, I got a call saying my car is ready. Can you drop me off at the garage instead?"

"Of course."

The rest of the day passed in a blur, but people were showing me with compliments about my dress, a light blue Dior cap sleeve dress that I wore with leather flip flops. I was still surprised at the lack of style most girls seemed to have compared to the girls in Forks. I had been accepted by seemingly everyone, and Jacob had helped me win over the nerds. He looked extremely happy and seemed a lot less uptight in class than he was the previous day. I guess my father really did take away all of his worries. I smiled at that fact.

Edward was leaning against his car looking sinfully gorgeous, but I was a little disappointed that his eyes were covered with Persol sunglasses, blocking me from seeing the sparkling emeralds.

"My father told me about what you did for Jacob. You literally took all of his worries away," he said as pulled out of the parking lot and out of the wrought iron gates of the school.

"I was just thinking that all of his worries have disappeared. My dad is really proud of me and he said there's a 'surprise' waiting at home for me. I don't need a gift. It will only piss off Alice more," I said, feeling guilty that I was getting showered with attention.

"I had the pleasure of meeting Alice today. I hear that she has been following Jasper around like a lost puppy. He hates it," Edward said, smirking.

"God. She's so innocent for a fourteen year old and part of me wants to keep her that way, while the other half of me wants to show her the horrors of the world. She's not that intelligent either, which makes it even worse. I hope she knows that Jasper is a senior," I said. "You know over the summer she asked me what sex was, claiming that no one ever told her."

Edward roared with laughter at that. "Seriously?"

"I'm not joking. She didn't believe what I was trying to tell her, saying that I was wrong and that what I was saying was to scare her off. She's going to be pregnant soon. I know it."

"I can imagine. I'm sure she's going to the party on Friday night, so she should loose a good deal of innocence there. Are you going?" he asked.

"Maybe. I'm not really the party type. Believe it or not, I never went to parties in Forks apart from one after homecoming party last year," I said, feeling a little embarrassed to reveal that information about myself.

"I hope you'll come to this one. Just don't get drunk and you will be fine," he said with his trademark smirk. He pulled into the drive of the garage and I hopped out thanking him for the ride. It made me a little sad when I realized that I would no longer be riding with him, but I was happy to be able to show off my sleek, red Jaguar XF R-S.

"Hi I'm here to pick up my car," I said to the man behind the front desk. He blinked a few times and blushed.

"You Bella Swan?" he asked with a thick Chicago accent.

"That's me," I said as I pulled out my ID and black American Express. The guy's eyes widened as he saw the black credit card.

"It's all done. Don't scratch a car like that again!"

I smiled at him before pulling open the door and sitting in the driver's seat, sighing in contentment.

"I love this car," I muttered to myself before pulling out into the Chicago traffic.

The rest of the week flew by. Things had settled into a normal routine and I was content, if not a little bored. In Forks, everyday, there would be some type of drama that would involve the entire school, making the days stressful to say in the least, but interesting if nothing else. Before I knew it, it was Friday and Rose was in my closet wearing very short shorts that showed off her legs and a grey tank top. She looked great in simple clothes like that, and because she was wearing her glittery heels, I knew she was dressed for a party.

"Come on Bell! Just come to this one! Even if you are only going to talk to Edward, that's fine," she said winking at me.

"I guess you're right," I said as I started changing into the outfit Rose had selected; a neon yellow bra that would be worn under my white Celine tee shirt, and black shorts with my neon yellow Kate Spade heels.

She shoved me down on my vanity stool and began my makeup and hair.

"You'll do," she said, allowing me to look in the mirror.

My hair was pulled into a high, messy ponytail and my eyes were dark and rimmed with black and dark grey eyeshadows.

"I'll do?" I asked, quirking and eyebrow. "Rose, you've outdone yourself."

"Everyone goes all out for this party Bella. It's the back to school party where everything about social status is set in stone. It'll be fine," she said, curling her hair.

"The famous last words," I said dramatically.

"Shut up. You're driving right?" she asked.

"Of course. And no drinking ma'am," I said with a salute causing her to hit me on the butt.

"Let's go," she said.

"Bye Mom!" I called out. She knew we were going to a party, but our parents trusted us to be responsible enough to call one of them if we had something to drink. They wouldn't be mad. They would probably be happy that we called them and didn't risk our lives.

Rosalie directed me to a house that was completely lit up. There were colorful flashing lights and you could hear the bass. I parked and Rose linked her arm with mine.

"Pull up your shorts a little more Bella, trust me," she said as I pulled them up to an obscene length.

She opened the front door and everyone turned to look at us. I raised my eyebrows and began to weave through the people I recognized and barely recognized. Everyone was still staring, so I dragged Rose into the middle of the makeshift dance floor in the living room. Couples that were making out turned to watch and I held back a coughing fit from all of the smoke in the air. I began to sway my hips, smirking at some of the boys that were watching open mouthed. Girls were glaring, so I tuned them out as Rose and I really began to dance. I suddenly felt a strong arm wrap around my waist and pull me back against a muscular, strong body. One look at the shoes and I knew it was Edward. I turned my head up and back and smiled at him as I began to grind with him. He smirked back and I noticed Tanya looking murderous, like she was about to cry. I felt a little bad for her; the fact she convinced herself that she stood a chance with Edward.

I went to the bathroom and when I returned I saw Alice talking to Edward, who was looking extremely uncomfortable and was searching the crowd, his height helping him greatly. His eyes locked on mine as I approached and he suddenly wrapped his arms around me and kissed me. I pulled back, surprised, and glared at him.

"Cad é atá tú?" I asked. [What are you doing?] He shrugged and grinned at me. "Tá tú ar meisce. Fuck, Edward. I ndáiríre, ní gá an ceart seo anois. Ní nach raibh mé liom é, ach dáiríre. Póg dom nuair nach bhfuil tú ar meisce agus go dtiocfadh leat a fháil atá in ann imoibriú níos fearr." [You're drunk. Fuck, Edward. I really don't need this right now. Not that I didn't like it, but seriously. Kiss me when you aren't drunk and you might get a better reaction.]

I slapped him lightly, but still enough to cause a scene. "Tá mé go raibh Bella dhá shots. Tá mé breá an eolas faoi cad tá mé ag déanamh. Más rud é nach raibh tú ag iarraidh é, Tá brón orm. Ach níl mé ag dul a aiféala é." [I've had two shots Bella. I'm perfectly aware of what I'm doing. If you didn't want it, I'm sorry. But I'm not going to regret it.]

I shook my head. "Call me later and we can discuss this once you are sober." I knew he had more than two shots. I could taste the alcohol on my lips as he kissed me. A kiss that sent shivers down my spine and left me wanting more and my heart racing, even though it was sloppy and rough. People were whispering as I slipped out the patio doors and sat down, pulling off my heels and dangling my feet in the warm water of the pool.

Well at least Edward wanted me. Drunk at least. I knew because I had felt that want pressing into my lower back when we were dancing. But did I want him? I was broken out of my thoughts by a nasally voice.

"Are you crazy enough to turn down Edward Cullen? Oh well, now he got that out if his system he will come back to me like he always does," Tanya said, laughing at me. Before I could even respond, I was flying into the pool, fully dressed. I surfaced, coughing and spluttering and I saw Alice.

"Payback is bitch, huh?" she said, as she high-fived Tanya. "Who's on top now? Edward will realize how pathetic you are and he'll be all mine. Sorry Tanya, but you stand no chance."

Tanya glared at Alice. "What's a little friendly competition? At least he won't want this slut."

Mentally thanking Rose for the waterproof makeup, I swam over to the edge and pulled myself out, only to have Alice push me back in. I was faster though and I managed to grab her ankles along with one of Tanya's, pulling them both in too.

I climbed out of the pool before Tanya or Alice could retaliate and I realized that most of the party had come outside. I sighed and pulled off my soaked tee shirt, causing wolf whistles, mainly from Emmett.

"Has anyone seen Rosalie Hale?" I yelled to the crowd.

"I'm right here Bella," she said, coming to stand next to me. "Let's go home."

I drove home in my dripping wet clothes, shivering. Even though the plan was to go back to Rose's house after the party, I was so sick of Alice always being out to get me, so I decided to head home. Alice would hate me even more if I involved our parents, but I knew I had to talk to them because I would probably shoot her sooner or later. I knew she was jealous, but tonight crossed a line. We never became physical and it was one of the rules our parents strictly upheld.

"Mom, dad, I'm home," I called out as I headed into the living room where I saw them cuddled on the couch covered with a blanket and watching the Sopranos. Figures.

"What happened Bella?" my mother asked, looking concerned.

"Alice happened. She pushed me in a pool tonight because she was jealous that I was dancing with Edward. She's delusional, mom. I don't know why, apart from the fact that she's jealous of me, she would do this. It's crossed a line and I'm coming pretty close to physically hurting her if she does it again," I explained, my frustration evident.

"Hey, Bell, I'm going to be up in your room taking a shower," Rose said, squeezing my shoulder as she left the living room.

"You were dancing with Carlisle's boy?" Charlie asked, his eyebrows raised.

"Yes Daddy. He was drunk and he kissed me after as soon as I came back into the room. Alice was talking to him," I explained.

"I don't like that he put you in that position with your sister Bella."

"Me neither, but Alice crossed a line."

"We will deal with her. I'm sorry your night was ruined honey," my mom said, pulling me into an embrace.

"Bella, we got you something," my dad said.

"Daddy," I sighed, about to protest.

"No, and you are accepting this."

He pulled a large red box out from behind a cushion and handed it to me. My hands were shaking, as I realized what it was. I opened it, and lying in the white suede was the Cartier watch I had lusted over since I was a little girl. It was one of their watched with a white leather strap, gold accents and a black face, with a leopard set on the face, encrusted in diamonds. I began to cry.

"Turn it over," my father said gently, smiling at me.

On the back was an inscription: 'Con tutto il nostro amore e sostegno. Mamma e Papà' [With all of our love and support. Mom and Daddy]

"Thank you," I said, kissing them both.

"Go and have a shower before you freeze. We love you so much Bella and we are so proud of you," my father said, with a smile.

I left the room and locked the watch up, but not before taking one last look at it. It was perfect and everything I had ever dreamed of wanting.

.us/collections/timepieces/womens-watches/creative -jeweled-watches/feminine-complications/hpi00684-p romenade-dune-panthere-watch Bella's watch.


	6. Chapter 6

**AN: I still can't believe in such a short amount of time, just how much people love this story and are responding to it. If I didn't mention it before Mr. Hale's first name is Eleazar. Just be warned that this chapter might be a little disturbing for some younger readers and it's a long one. Thank you so much! I don't own anything... And here is the revised link for Bella's watch... .us/collections/timepieces/womens-watches/creative -jeweled-watches/feminine-complications/hpi00684-p romenade-dune-panthere-watch**

Somebody Got Murdered- The Clash

It had been a week since the party and Edward was avoiding me. According to Jasper, he was embarrassed and was chewed out by his parents for creating a situation between two sisters. I snorted at that fact, knowing that Alice and I would never really be sisters. I always suspected that she might have been adopted; she was too short at 5'2 with black hair, grey eyes and a very pinched face that held no resemblance to that of my mother's or father's. I sighed, hating the situation and I just wanted to talk to Edward. He watched me and in Spanish I could feel his green eyes intently focused on me, or rather my cleavage when I bent over the desk to finish my homework.

Emmett and Rosalie had taken to calling me 'Panther' after they saw my watch. Something had changed between the two of them and they were constantly flirting and teasing each other. Emmett seemed to have dropped the stupid act and was actually keeping up in our discussions about politics and classes and everything in between. I was happily surprised when he announced that he got his first A in his Italian class. She was good for him, but I didn't want her to get hurt. Rose seemed tough and confident, but she was really quite sweet and kind. And with Emmett she had begun to let all of her walls and defenses down. Jasper seemed to be cautious too.

We were sitting around our table, when my dad and Mr. Hale burst in.

"Ní mór dúinn dul anois! Bella, Rosalie, Jasper, Emmett agus Edward grab do rudaí agus a leanúint Hale! Téigh, téigh, téigh! Anois! Níos tapúla!" my dad yelled in Gaelic. Something was wrong. Very wrong. As I began to follow everyone, I saw Alice look at me with horror stricken eyes. [We need to go now! Bella, Rosalie, Jasper, Emmett and Edward grab your stuff and follow Eleazar! Go, go, go! Now! Faster!]

"Alice, get over here! Come on!" I yelled at her and she quickly joined me. We were told to go to our own cars and that one of the solidati would be driving us to a secure location.

"Dad what's going on?" I asked, slightly nervous.

"There's a bomb threat and we believe that it will be acted upon. Bella, thank you for grabbing your sister. They are evacuating the other students now and I need to be here. I love you," he said, shutting the back door to my car, causing the driver to speed out of the parking lot.

Alice and I sat in silence, as the car sped and wove dangerously through the traffic. I glanced at Alice who looked terrified, real emotion on her face that I could actual relate to. I grabbed her hand and she looked at me before squeezing it back. A fourteen year old should never have to leave a supposedly safe place like school due to a bomb threat. I continued to hold her hand as we rushed through downtown and pulled into an underground garage after Edward's Aston.

"Alright girls. You need to go with Edward and you cannot leave until your father tells us it's okay for you to. Should anything happen, head to the panic room and stay there. This building is designed to survive an earthquake and after 9/11, it has been designed to withstand incidences like that. Be safe girls and take care," the man said.

"Thank you and please look after yourself as well," I said, placing a hand on his shoulder as I slid out of the car after Alice. I jumped back when I saw Jasper's car slide into the spot next to us, and depositing Rosalie, Jasper and Emmett.

"They followed us, so we sent Emmett's car off as a diversion and they seemed to follow it," Jasper said, looking slightly ruffled. "That was crazy driving Edward. Seth was cussing you out. He said he was the driver during hits."

I glanced at Alice nervously, who looked up at me with questioning eyes. "Alice, I'll explain everything later. Please just trust me for now."

"Let's go everyone," Edward said, walking towards the elevator doors. He turned and called out over his shoulder. "I should be a damn good driver. Carlisle taught me himself."

We rode up to the penthouse in relative silence. We were all on edge, yet I somehow knew I had to remain calm for everyone else, especially Alice. She slipped her hand in mine again. I caught Rose's questioning gaze and gave her a tight smile. She nodded in understanding and slipped her hand into Alice's as well. I could feel Alice's hands tremble.

"This is Carlisle's business penthouse, or his 'office'. The elevator doors are bulletproof and cannot be forced open. Should anything happen, there is a helicopter on the roof ready for takeoff at a moment's notice. If they find us and try to use fire we have fifteen minutes to get out safely. After a blast from a bomb, just five. Continue up those stairs to the top and open up the door. The pilot is set. If one of us can't get there in time for whatever reason, the helicopter will still leave. However, if someone enters the penthouse, which they shouldn't be able to now that we are on lockdown mode, there is a panic room through those doors. There is enough oxygen to last 24 hours and there are individual oxygen tanks, as well as various medical supplies and food and water. No one can get in without an eye scan, finger print scan and override code that only Carlisle knows. We should be extremely safe here," Edward said. "Make yourselves at home. We might be here a while."

I began to take in the surroundings. We were in a giant room, with a conference table, seating area, kitchen and various doors leading out of the expansive, ultra modern and clinical space. I pulled my hand out of Alice's and turned on the television. Emmett stole the other remote and found the local news channel. I plopped down and pulled out my gun and loaded it, but left the safety on before shoving it down the back of my black skinny jeans. I was so thankful that I had decided to carry my knife and gun around secretly after my mom asked me to be careful. I slipped on my thigh holster and strapped my knife in. Emmett's eyebrows were raised.

"What are you doing Bella?" he asked.

"Preparing for the worst. We have no idea what is going to happen, and I'm not going to be a sitting duck," I said, glancing at Edward who was speaking rapid French into his phone. French was the one language that none of us knew enough of to understand what he was saying. I turned my attention back to the television.

'_We are here live outside of Chicago Day Academy after the entire school was evacuated due to a bomb threat. A body was found today in an alley behind the gentleman's club known as Eclipse. The owners alerted the police after a note was found in the pocket of the body. It is believed that the body belongs to one of the patrons, Aro Volturi, who many suspect has connections to the Italian mafia here in Chicago. It is believed that he was targeted for a reason and we have yet to have a comment from the police who are busy searching the school for the bomb.'_

Suddenly, cameras were moving and there were screams and the sickest sound, I had ever heard. It was the sound of an explosion and I could hear people screaming in pain. And the connection cut out. Edward had returned to our group.

"I can't get through to Carlisle, Charlie or Eleazar. For just now I hope. Emmett, Jazz, we need to get the girls out of here now-"

I cut Edward off, standing up. "If you are getting in a fight, I'm joining you. Jazz knows I'm a better shot than him under pressure and that I can beat him hands down in any fight, knife or combat." I was staring into Edward's eyes.

Alice was looking at me, fear written across her face, and I knew I had to explain everything quickly. "Alice, Daddy is part of the mafia."

"What?" she responded, looking aghast. "Bella, are you going down there to fight the people that planted the bomb?"

"No, I'm going down to find Daddy," I said, pulling her in for a hug in the first time in years. "I'll be okay."

"Rose, Alice you need to go right now," Jazz said. "We will contact you all. I love you Rose."

"Take care of her Rose. I love you. Alice, please be brave, and if you meet mom, tell her I love her and not to worry," I said.

"Bella, you need to go with them," Edward demanded.

"Fuck you Cullen. I was trained for sixteen years to become the underboss and right now is a perfect time to prove myself. Are you seriously going to go up against other bosses that took Carlisle down with just Jazz and Emmett? You're asking for a death wish if you do that. I have a feeling it was the Columbians. Charlie said their consigliere is the weak link. Apparently he's the only one with brains, so if we take him out, the whole operation falls. Dad was planning to hit them today," I said, standing my ground.

"She has a point Edward. If Bella can figure all of this out by just eavesdropping, then she should be allowed to come with us. She's a better fighter than me," Jazz said. "She can take care of herself."

"Right now, we are wasting time. We need to get guns, vests and get Rose and Alice out of here. Then we need to contact the team that was surveying the Columbians to find out if it was actually them. Then we need to head down and see if our fathers are still alive!" I screamed at Edward.

"Fine! God Bella! I'm the boss, and you are the underboss. You will follow my orders at all time, you hear me? I don't need to worry about you playing the hero right now!" he yelled at me. "Rose, Alice leave now!"

I heard them begin to run up the stairs. I looked back to Edward who had changed from cool and clam, to angry and even scary in the matter of a few seconds. His furious eyes met mine. "It's not the Columbians. They told us. It was an inside job according to Denali. Kate's father was a capo and he's dead. He was targeted on purpose. Bella, they want you dead next and we need to use that to our advantage. Let's go," Edward said, leading us through a door into an armory. "Carlisle has been building this for years."

It was like one of those rooms from the movies, that only government agents had access too. We all began to grab weapons. I pulled on a hoodie and tucked my hair inside and pulled the sleeves up. I grabbed a pair of aviator sunglasses as Edward helped me hook up to walkie-talkie system; the wire ran under the bullet proof vest I was pulling on.

"We are channel four. You talk, and we all hear. There is no pressing of any button required. There is a five mile range. The police will see us armed, so have your permits ready and don't be afraid to get in their faces to get information. Bella speak like a guy, and just pretend you are gay or a transvestite. As long as no one sees your eyes, you are not Bella Swan. Gear up guys," Edward said.

I decided to leave my personal gun here, knowing that the silver would stand out too much. Emmett tossed me a pair of boots and socks which I pulled on.

"Those are my mom's. They should fit you," he said.

I shoved my knife in the boot and strapped on a gun holster instead. I shoved ammo in the zip pocket of the hoodie and shoved another gun down the back of my pants and shoved another hand gun into the shoulder holster under my vest.

"Call Jasper, Jazz. I'm Eddie, Emmett will go as Em and Bella you will go as S," Edward said as we stood in the elevator that wasn't moving. "They are waiting downstairs for us. As soon as the doors open we will be under fire. I have a smoke grenade ready to go. You need to move left out of the elevator and if you can get out of the way, there will be a car with a driver ready to go. He's hidden and still alive even though there are about five men downstairs. He knows who they are. They are Irish from Boston, unhappy about our union with the Italians. Someone from our group that has an intimate knowledge of everything is helping them. Our goal is to get to that person. Bella, I'd suspect you if I hadn't hacked into your phone records. I already cleared Rosalie and Alice, but it's someone like that who is helping them. Keep cool and don't do anything too stupid. Bandanas guys. Let's go."

We all were laying down as the doors opened and I heard the fire. Before I could even blink, Edward was up and shooting through the smoke and I crawled left, leading Jazz and Emmett.

"Jones and Jenks are down Mark! Leave it! Let's go!" screamed a voice. "We should have listened to Jake! He knows these kids and what they are capable of. Let's go!"

We heard them leave, but still stayed low. Jake, Jake, Jake. Who was Jake? Charlie never mentioned a Jake in his phone calls, but-no. No. Jake had to be Jacob. His friends called him Jake. Fuck.

"Fuck!" I screamed out loud after we were all in the car safely. "Motherfucker! Is é Jake Jacob. Sin motherfucker!" [Jake is Jacob. That motherfucker!]

The car drove in the direction of the club, where apparently the majority of the solidati [mafia fighters or soldiers] were waiting for Edward.

"Bella do you know where Jacob lives?" Jazz asked.

"1246 Vine Street. He has storage locker 56 but I doubt he will be in either of those places."

"Okay. Em you are going to the storage locker with a few guys. Eddie, you and S will head to his house and rough up his mom a bit with four other guys. I'll take everyone else to the bomb site and we will press the police," Jazz said, acting like the consigliere Charlie had trained him to be. When I showed more promise as a fighter than a strategist, Eleazar began to teach Charlie how to train me, while Charlie coached Eleazar in developing Jasper's skills as a strategist and an advisor. Jazz seemed to be putting that to use. "How does that sound boss? You can keep an eye on S and take control of the guys that won't listen to Em as capo or me, but will listen to you. Everyone knows you are the boss if Carlisle goes of the grid. And they know Em is a capo now. Don't speak Gaelic, but you can speak Italian and english."

"Sounds good Jazz. Let's go," Edward said, hopping out and we all followed him into the club. It was crowded and loud. Edward shot his gun up twice. Some people yelled, others dropped, but many pulled their guns. "Listen up people! Those of you who ducked or yelled go with Em here, or your new capo. You guys are heading to the Public Storage center on the west side of town. Move, move!"

"Why should we listen to you?" some guy yelled out. I nodded at Edward to continue dividing people. I walked down into the crowd and found the big guy that yelled at Edward. I pulled down my bandana.

"That is your new boss, Edward Cullen. I'm sure you've heard on him," I said, in a gruff voice.

"And why should I listen to you little man?" he sneered.

"Everyone who is in this family is here because they have a skill. Don't under estimate me," I said, dangerously.

"I'm so scared."

I turned around, to leave, but kicked my leg back and hit him in the shin with the steel toe of the boot. He crumpled. He stood up, glaring at me. I deftly pulled out two guns and popped off the safety's pointing them at him.

"Hey, boss! We gotta crazy guy over here!" one of them yelled to Edward.

Edward looked at me and smirked. "Bella, leave him. We need some of them to be alive if we are going to find Jacob."

The remaining guys were looking at me as I shoved my guns back in the holsters. I pulled down my hood and pulled off the dark sunglasses. "Sorry Eddie. This guy has problems with respect and doesn't realize that girls don't participate in pissing contests."

I heard Jasper and Emmett laughing through the radio ear piece.

"Boys, this is Bella Swan. Your new underboss, my righthand girl and Charlie Swan's daughter," Edward said to the ten men that were remaining after the others left with Jazz and Em.

"Don't you mean your girlfriend?" one of them called out.

"No way. This is bullshit. She may be Charlie's daughter but she's what? Twelve?" another called out.

"Boss, permission please," I said, glaring at the man.

"You really should respect her boys," Edward said, as I stalked towards the hulk of a man. He was taller and more muscular than Emmett, which was saying something. I punched him in the face with no preamble at all. It hurt, but I didn't let that show. Instead, I pretended it really hurt, but slipped my knife into my hand and pressed it suddenly into his neck, drawing blood.

"You all should respect me. I'm faster and just as strong as you. But right now, I can hurt this guy and my left hand is free to grab my gun and shoot. Let this be a warning. Charlie won't be mad if I kill you. In fact, he'd want me to kill anyone that doesn't treat me with respect. You listen to me and Edward now. Got it?" I asked.

A chorus of 'yes ma'ams' made me nod. "Let's catch this motherfucker!" one guy yelled and I smiled at him.


	7. Chapter 7

**AN: The response has been amazing, and I'm getting really into this story. Thank you for reading this! I might have to change the rating pretty soon, so please, know that you were warned. Just to be on the safe side. **

Take Me to the River- Talking Heads

We pulled up outside the modest house. A gun shot was fired and I hopped out, using the car as a barrier.

"Jazz we are under fire. Any luck with the police?" I asked.

"None. Nothing, they are putting out a bolo though and we will be contacted if he's found."

"Fuck Jazz. We need to be the ones contacted if it's found. Did you change it to put my number down?"

"I'm not stupid S."

"I know, I know. I just wanted to make sure."

"We will head over to his house now. Good luck S."

"Eddie, cover me!" I yelled over the fire that was coming in heavily to the car from the house. I pulled out two guns and shot at the gas tank at the side of the house. Within seconds, the tank exploded, causing the gas in the pipes to explode, causing a massive explosion. No one could survive that if they were still inside.

"Let's get out of here. If he was in there, great, if not, it sent him a message. Jazz, you don't need to show up anymore," Edward said, sending the black SUVs full of guys back. "That was a good idea S."

"Thanks boss," I said, pulling out my ringing cell phone. "Hello?"

_Hi, I would like to remain annonymous, but I know where Jacob is. _

"Can you give me an address?"

_He's sitting in an alley, swearing and crying, like he got some bad news. It's behind Club Blood._

I hung up. "Jacob's in the alley behind Club Blood," I said, know Jazz and Em could probably hear us. Edward stepped on the gas.

"I'll take this side S, take the other side and let's meet in the middle," Edward said. I walked in between two buildings and I saw Jacob, slumped against a wall crying. I saw Edward in the shadows.

"Well Jacob," I said, walking out so he could see me. "You should know that if I make a mess, I clean it up."

"You killed my mom, you bitch!" he roared, lunging at me. I sidestepped it and he fell.

"Do you know where Carlisle Cullen, Eleazar Hale and my father, my kind hearted father are?"

"Hopefully dead. If those fuckers did what I told them to." He spat on my shoes.

"Why do you want them dead Jacob?" I asked in my sickly sweet voice.

"Someone made me a better offer and you were in the way."

"Where are they Jacob?" I said, more forcefully.

He spat in my face. And I shot his thigh. I pressed my foot into it. He was writhing beneath me, screaming and cussing like there was no tomorrow. "Where are they Jacob?"

"They got away, okay? I thought if I bombed the school you guys would back off, but I had no idea what I was doing when I contacted the mob in Boston. Just don't hurt me!"

"Who made you the better offer?" I asked, applying more pressure.

He screamed. "Some guy, said he played both sides. I don't know. He said he was in your mob and another one here in Chicago. Pretty high up too. Wanted to get Charlie out of the way so he could become underboss when Hale became consigliere. Just don't kill me!"

Edward stepped out of the shadows. "Not part of the plan." Edward pulled the trigger and Jacob stopped moving, blood and brains spraying the ground and the walls around his limp corpse. Edward unhooked his radio and mine."Can you get the trunk? We'll have to wait until it gets dark, but then we can dump the body." Edward glanced at the sky. "It will be dark enough soon."

Edward was so calm and collected. It scared me how someone who supposedly had a heart could be so cold, so ruthless, to the point where they didn't feel a thing when they pulled the trigger. His calmness scared me more than the blood that was left in the alley. He scared me for the first time.

"And that's it," Edward said, brushing of his hands on his jeans. I looked at the sinking form of Jacob, weights around his ankles, and I watched as he disappeared into the dark depths of the water. It all seemed too simple. I watched crime dramas and I knew that after the explosion at his mother's house that the police would be investigating everything.

"Won't the police figure this out?" I asked, worried.

"As long as nothing else happens, they will turn a blind eye to whatever we did. We are the number one financial backers for the sheriff's office and they know that. If the peace holds, we have nothing to worry about. The police know that we keep the rats off the street," Edward said. "Let's go. My mom wants to meet you."

He grabbed my hand and pulled me back towards his car.

"I don't think so," a voice said.

I pulled out my gun and Edward had his out too. "Who are you?" he demanded.

"I'm the best hit man of the Columbian cartel and you just killed off my best crystal cooker. It's a shame you won't be alive to tell everyone who killed the golden children of the Mafia. And now you must die," he said, cocking his gun. I was faster and I shot him squarely between the eyes. "Who told him? Only Carlisle, my dad, Eleazar and Garrett knew what we were doing!" I yelled. Our radios had been unhooked.

"They could have tailed us Bella. We have to go," Edward said calmly as we hopped into his car. At that point in time, it dawned on me that I had just killed someone. Someone with a life, and a family. I couldn't show remorse or fear, because he was trying to kill me. Tears began to stream down my face and I couldn't stop them. I turned to look out of the window as Edward flew through the streets of Chicago and through my neighborhood. Edward took my hand and held it as we drove down a street where the houses were further apart and there were more trees. The houses also became progressively larger.

He pulled to a stop in front of a solid looking gates, with a gatehouse, and security cameras. The gates opened up automatically, and I saw his house for the first time. It was a gorgeous old victorian that had obviously been lovingly restored to its old splendor of that time period. Edward drove up the long driveway that looped in front of the house and pulled to a stop. I was in awe.

"My mother could only restore two-thirds of the original house. The rest had to be torn down," Edward explained.

"It's huge. And amazing," I said, still shocked.

"Tell my mother that, and you will be her best friend. She already seems to like you," Edward said as he pulled open the massive oak front door.

Everything was antique- opulent, traditional and luxurious. It was incredible.

"Mam! Tá mé sa bhaile," Edward called out as he pulled me into the expansive living room. [Mom! I'm home]

"Sa chistin, ghile," a voice sounding like wind chimes called out. [In the kitchen, darling] Edward pulled me through a door way and I was suddenly in a very white, professional kitchen. It was similar to the one at my new house, white marble, white subway tiles and chrome appliances that shone in the light.

"Devi essere Bella. E 'un piacere conoscerti," a woman the same height as me said, pulling me into a warm hug. [You must be Bella. It's a pleasure to meet you.] Her green eyes sparkled and danced, just like Edward's, and I could see Emmett's dimples on her cheeks. She was stunning, golden haired with a kind, open face that was motherly and beautiful.

"Is ea. Tá sé iontach chun bualadh leat freisin, Mrs Cullen," I responded. [Yes. It's wonderful to meet you too, Mrs. Cullen]

"Call me Esme, dear! I am so happy to meet you!" she gushed, kissing my cheeks. "Is maith liom é seo Edward amháin. Cén fáth go raibh tú a póg di ag an bpáirtí?" [I like this one Edward. Why did you have to kiss her at that party?] Edward rolled his eyes.

"Now Bella, you are absolutely stunning! Are you staying for dinner?" she asked.

"Well, actually we were hoping to talk to my father and Mr. Cullen. We have something extremely important that we should tell them," I said.

"Edward cad a tharla nuair a dhumpáil tú an comhlacht?" she asked, suddenly concerned. [Edward what happened when you dumped the body?]

"Nothing, Mom. It's all fine. Is Dad in his study?" he asked.

"Of course. Bella, ask your father if you can stay! I need a real Italian to tell me if my lasagne is good enough," she said with a wink, as Edward pulled me out of the kitchen.

"Your mom could have told someone," I said bluntly.

"Yes and so could Charlie," he snapped.

"God Edward. I get that you are on edge, I really do, but right now I'm freaking out. Someone is a rat, and I just killed a man! A man with a family, pretty similar to our's!" I yelled, tears beginning to flow. Edward's harsh demeanor softened instantly.

"Was that your first kill Bella?"

I nodded, unable to speak without bursting into full tears. He wrapped his arms around me, and pulled me close, tucking my head under his chin and whispering softly into my hair. His scent calmed me; a mix of cinnamon, leather and smoke. I felt safer in his arms than I did in my father's.

After what seemed like an eternity, I pulled away, regretfully. "I'm okay."

"Bella, you did really well today. Remembering your sister, keeping her calm despite the tension between you too. It's important that you are there for her from now on. If she is as innocent and naïve as you say, she will need you, especially after Charlie nearly forgot her," Edward said, as we continued walking through the corridors that we lined with priceless works of art. I could hear the shouting before we entered the room. Edward knocked on the door, and a burly man opened it.

"Boss, Eddie and Bella are here," he said gruffly, taking in our appearances, sweaty hair, bullet proof vests, boots and dirty jeans. Most people normally dress up when they go to see the Boss.

"Come in kids," Charlie said, pulling me into a hug before I could even get through the door. "You did well today Bella."

"What's wrong Dad?" Edward asked, as he took in Carlisle's demeanor.

"The Columbians hit Club Blood. Twelve dead, thirteen injured. We have no idea how they got through security," Carlisle said from behind his traditional desk that matched the decor of the study, a stereotypical male library.

"Bella and I were confronted by the Columbian's top hit man after we dumped Jacob. Bella shot him," Edward explained. Charlie looked pained and flew into a rage, grabbing Edward by the collar.

"And why the fuck did you let Bella shoot him? Point blank Edward? You know the rules," Charlie said seething.

"Papà, mi è stato più veloce. E conosco le regole, ma non me ne frega un cazzo. Quando qualcuno stava cercando di uccidermi, io non penso proprio di cortesia, e io sono Edward non stava pensando che sia," I said, laying a hand on his arm, wanting him to release Edward. [Dad, I was faster. And I know the rules, but I don't give a fuck. When someone was trying to kill me, I don't exactly think about courtesy, and I'm Edward wasn't thinking about that either.]

"Look, Charlie, someone sold us out. The only people that knew what we were up to were you three, Esme and Garrett. Bella and I unhooked our radios."

Carlisle interrupted us by throwing his glass of Scotch against the opposite wall. "It's Garret. That asshole! He was always eluding to the fact that Charlie gave crap advice and that Bella was not a good successor of you, Eleazar. Motherfucker! After all I've done for him. He's basically out to ruin us. That idiot. If we go to war against the Columbians, there's a chance we will fall. They are more like a gang in operation and don't care if they get caught. Fuck, fuck, fuck!"

I looked at Edward nervously.

"I'll get on it Carlisle," Eleazar said, nodding at Charlie.

"Bella, you should go home. You have school tomorrow," Charlie said kissing my forehead. I went around and said goodbye to Carlisle and Eleazar as well.

Edward and I left the room. "All part of the charade right?" I asked him.

"Killers by day, school children by day as well. Who would guess?" he said sarcastically. "I'll take you home."

After saying goodbye to Esme, and promising that I would return for dinner soon, I found myself in Edward's sleek Aston once again. "You know if you keep driving me everywhere, I might have to sell my car," I said, throwing him a coy smile. He just looked at me for a second, before shaking his head.

"Were you flirting with me Bella?" he said teasingly.

"No, I'm merely discussing the benefits of selling my car, environmentally of course," I responded.

"Are you sure you're okay Bella?" he asked, looking worried.

"I'm fine," I said, trying to convince myself that I was.

Edward reached into the cup holder for his phone and handed it to me. "It may be strange to ask you this, but can I have your number please?" I smiled at him and then I entered my information into the black iPhone.


	8. Chapter 8

**AN: Thank you so much for the reviews everyone! Seriously, they make my day. And the amount of follows and favorites and reviews I have received in such a short amount of time is incredible enjoy this story, the basis of which I do not own. **

Sunday Bloody Sunday- U2

It was 3 am. And I was scared. Every time I closed my eyes, images of the previous day flashed behind my eyelids, scaring me. I could see the blood, all of the blood, from Jacob's form and the man I shot. I took his life, and took him from his family. Cursing myself for being so affected by this, I grabbed my phone and dialed Edward's number.

"Hello?" a sleepy, gruff voice said. It was incredibly sexy, just like the entirety of Edward.

"I'm sorry, I don't know why I called. I'm sorry I woke you," I said, cursing myself, about to hang up.

"No, it's fine Bella. Are you okay?" he asked, sounding more awake.

"I'm okay, I'm sorry. I'll let you go," I said.

"No, I'm coming over. I'll see you soon." the line cut out, and I couldn't even protest. I knew deep down that would happen, but I couldn't stop myself from being so selfish. I walked downstairs, and I could tell tale sounds that my parents were awake and busy as I passed the door to their room. When I reached the front door, Edward was there, in grey sweatpants and a tight black tee shirt, showing off how muscular he was. His eyes were sleepy and his hair was a complete mess. He was barefoot and had a bag with him. I led him up the stairs and past my parent's room again, where they were being extremely loud and Edward was smirking. I hit his arm and continued the trek in semi darkness. Thanks to the full moon, it was easy to see every stair.

I pulled him into my room and shut the door. "Why are you here?" I asked, touched that he would show up, but upset that he didn't let me refuse.

"Why did you call me?" he asked.

"Nice deflection. But seriously, Edward. It's not that I don't appreciate it, but it's three am."

"And you wouldn't have called if nothing was wrong or if you could sleep. Talk to me," he said, making himself comfortable on my couch. I sat down next to him, and tucked my legs under me.

"What is there to say?"

"Bella," he sighed, exasperated.

"I can't stop thinking about the fact I stopped someone's heart from beating," I said, finally cracking. I was pathetic. I called a guy early in the morning and then started crying as soon as he arrived. I felt Edward's arms wrap around me as he pulled me onto his lap.

"Bella, can I tell you a story?" he asked, slightly hesitantly.

I nodded.

"When two years ago, I shot someone. It was out of self defense and I killed him. I didn't come out of my room for weeks. I drank myself into oblivion. Then Carlisle told me something I will tell you. It doesn't justify what we do by any means, but it gave me peace of mind. Tá tú a bheith neamhthrócaireach más mian leat chun maireachtáil. Níl an saol éasca; tá sé fada agus contúirteacha agus bhí tú ámharach a rugadh i dteaghlach cosúil linne. Ach nuair a bhíonn duine ag iarraidh a mharú tú, tá sé mairfidh an fittest. Tú nó dó. Agus fiú amháin más rud a ar amas nó pointe bán, tá a fhios go mbeadh duine go mharaigh tú, go díreach nó go hindíreach. Má léiríonn tú remorse, ach smaoineamh go mbeadh an duine a maraíodh tú a bheith ag damhsa ar do uaigh. Cuimhnigh go bhfuil." [You have to be ruthless if you want to survive. Life isn't easy; it's long and dangerous and you were unlucky to be born in a family like ours. But when someone is trying to kill you, it's survival of the fittest. You or him. And even if its on a hit or point blank, know that that person would have killed you, directly or indirectly. If you show remorse, just think that the person you killed would be dancing on your grave. Remember that.]

I sat there processing that for a while. "I hate my life, you know that?"

"I hate mine too. I've spent years wishing I was normal, or wishing I was more like Emmett who will probably enlist. My parents won't shun him for that, but they will shun me. For once, I just want to be a normal teenager with a pick up truck that worries about his prom date and if he will get on the football team."

"For some reason, I can't see you being concerned with things like that," I said, with a weak smile. I knew I was suppressing my emotions about killing a man, but what choice did I have? Any person associated with the mafia did not go to a shrink. They talked to their siblings. "Shit! I have to text Rose!"

I glanced down at my phone and saw 22 missed calls, the most recent being five minutes ago. "I have to call Rose. Excuse me," I said, sliding off Edward's lap and into my closet.

"Rose?"

_Bella! Oh, I was so worried! Are you okay? Why didn't you call sooner? I mean Jasper said you were fine, but then he hasn't heard from Edward and neither has Emmett. I learned from my dad that you two were okay, but slightly stressed. _

_"_I'm sorry Rose! I really am, I've just- had other things on my mind. Can you come over tomorrow for breakfast before school?"

_Only if you have strong coffee. I think we will all need some. Love you Bella. And please call me sooner next time. _

_"_Love you too Rose." I pressed end call on the glass screen and glanced at my reflection in the mirror. My hair was in two french braids, and I was wearing a giant oversize tee shirt and panties and no bra. Shit. I was too tired to care and I was certain the damage had already been done. I wandered back out into my bedroom only to find Edward in my bed, sitting under the covers and propped up by pillows on my side.

"What are you doing?" I asked, shocked.

"I know I'm not being a gentleman right now, but I'm fucking tired, so I'm going to bed. Plus the fact it's big enough for four people. I didn't know you were kinky like that Bella," he teased. I hit his arm. Hard.

"No funny business," I warned as I turned out the lights and crawled in.

I was hot. Much too hot. I was sweating. From a bad dream? Nope. My heart wasn't racing. I opened my tired eyes and saw arms wrapped around my waist. Fuck. Edward actually stayed. I had no idea how I was going to explain this to my parents. And Rose. Shit! This was a huge mess.

"Edward get your ass out of bed right now," I yelled. He bolted upright. Rubbing his eyes, he grinned lazily.

"Good morning to you too," he said sarcastically.

I ran to my closet to get changed. The intercom on the wall beeped and I answered it.

"According to my mom none of us are going to school today," I called out to Edward.

"I got a text from my mom saying Dad had already left for work and she was going to work today as well," he replied.

"What does she do?"

"She is the founder of a charity that helps domestic violence victims."

I walked over to Edward. "Zip me up?" I asked, turning around. I felt his strong hand on my hip and the other one slide slowly up my back. "Thank you."

I began to gather up all of my school books and placed them in my bag, sliding my feet into a pair of navy Chloe flats and pulling my hair up into a messy bun. "Just wait a while before coming downstairs. You can eavesdrop on the intercom if you want. You'll be able to tell when the coast is clear."

I walked into the kitchen and placed my bag on the end of the counter, making a beeline for the coffee pot.

"Good morning Bella," my father said from the table where my mom, himself and Alice were sat around.

"Morning guys. Sleep well?" I asked, smirking at my mom and dad. They showed no trace of any emotion. Damn, they were good liars.

"I woke up around three am. I heard a sound like the front door opened. Was that you Bella?" Alice asked, a smug smile on her face. She knew.

"I came down to get some water around then, but I think you might have been hearing a banging head board," I said, sipping my coffee casually. My mother chocked on her tea and turned red. Alice just looked confused and my father rolled his eyes.

"Well, I have to dash if I want to be on time," I said.

"You aren't going to school today Bella. Neither are Rosalie or Jasper or the Cullen boys," Charlie said.

"I have a history test," I responded.

"And from what I gather, you have a perfect 4.0 so you will be fine."

"And all of the teachers think I'm cheating so by taking all of the tests, I can prove to them I'm not," I responded.

"Isn't that just rubbing it in their faces that you somehow can cheat in class without them noticing?" a voice said from the doorway.

"Hey Rose," I said, hopping off the bar stool and giving her a huge hug.

"See Dad, Rose gets it!" I whined.

"Don't whine Bella, it's not attractive," Edward said from the doorway.

"Edward. What are you doing here?" my father asked.

"Ask Bella," Alice said. Charlie turned to me.

"He was going to pick me up for school, but now there's no point. I think I'll go back to bed," I said.

"Because you obviously didn't get enough sleep last night, did you?" Alice said under her breath. For someone claiming to be so innocent, she was an expert at getting someone else in trouble.

"Bella, are you okay after yesterday?" my mom asked.

"She called me a three," Rose said. "And she seemed fine."

"And apparently, you weren't the only person she called," Alice said, my dad looking at her shrewdly.

"Shut it Alice," I warned.

"Oh, you're so scary!" she laughed sarcastically. "I know what I heard Bella. Especially after I heard the front door open and close."

"I'm checking the security tapes," my dad said, glaring at me.

"Dad, it was nothing!" I said, trying to keep my cool. Rose was looking at me with a strange expression and Edward was doing a perfect job of blending into the background, sipping a mug of coffee.

"Isabella Swan!" my dad roared. "What the fuck did you get up to last night?"

"Nothing Dad, I swear!"

"Then why do I have CCTV footage of Edward entering the house and never leaving?"

"I called him."

"Oh so he's your booty call now?"

"No! I called him because I couldn't sleep."

"So you call him for a good night fuck?"

"Isn't that what you do with mom? God, at least be quiet about it!"

"There's a huge difference, young lady. I'm married and you are not!"

"Well I fucking killed a man, who was married and I feel like a piece of shit!" I screamed losing my cool. Edward began to pull me into an embrace, but was stopped by Charlie.

"Don't touch her. What do you mean Isabella?"

"I'M DIRTY!" I screamed, crying now. "I SHOT A MAN. EVERY TIME I CLOSE MY EYES I SEE JACOBS BRAINS SPATTERED ALL OVER THE GROUND. I SEE EDWARD LOOKING SO CALM. I SEE THE SPARK OF LIFE EXTINGUISHED AS A BULLET HITS HIM!" I paused. "I called Edward because he is probably the only person that understands. Don't even try and say you do Dad. You were eighteen when you first killed. I'm sixteen."

"THAT STILL DOESN'T FUCKING EXPLAIN WHY HE WAS IN YOUR ROOM ALL NIGHT!"

"WE WEREN'T FUCKING IF THAT'S WHAT YOU WERE ASKING! He was comforting me while I cried my eyes out. He made me feel safe, secure, like I used to feel with you Dad," I said, seething and throwing daggers now. "Where were you yesterday? When I needed you the most?"

"Bella, I-" I cut him off.

"Don't even try to apologize or give me some bullshit about testing me. You don't leave four teenagers in control of a situation like that. What would have happened if none of those guys respected us? You weren't there. I had to perform a hit. I killed a man, for you. But when I needed you, you weren't there. You were a coward." I spat. I turned on my heel to leave.

"Where are you going Bella?" he demanded.

"Away from you."

"It's a blood bath out there. It's all out war. Be careful. Do you have your gun?" my dad asked.

I glared at him. "I left it in Carlisle's penthouse because I didn't want the solidati to know who I was."

"You know what I really regret Bella?" my dad said, his eye becoming more furious. "Trusting you."

I nearly collapsed. That was the worst blow he could have delivered to me, and he knew it. It was worse than being called fat or ugly. If I lost my father's trust I couldn't do anything.

"Do you really want to know what I regret, Charlie?" I spat out his first name. "That I have been calling you Daddy for all these years. That I killed a man. That I followed you blindly. That I tried to impress you."

I turned and walked towards the back door. I ushered Edward out first, and just as I was about to close it, I called out again. "I really regret that I did in fact, actually fuck Edward last night. You ruined a special night for me too."

Edward looked at me funny as we climbed in his car. "But we didn't actually do anything last night," he said.

"I hate my father more than anything right now. I'm sorry if your parents give you shit about it later," I said, trying to calm down.

"As long as I used a condom, my parents won't mind," he said laughing.

"Well I think different rules apply when you are fucking your right hand man's daughter that will one day work for you," I said laughing.

"That's true. Bella, you know that the police are mounting a case against us because the peace didn't hold, right? Ten innocent civilians were shot and killed last night in a drive by and it will only get worse. The police are already closing in," Edward said.

"Call me crazy, but I have an idea," I said. "Take me to the police station."

Edward looked at me funny, but turned around.

Officers were staring at us, as we entered the building. Since they were trying to arrest our fathers, I knew they had been briefed. I walked up to the reception area.

"Hi, my name is Isabella Swan, and I witnessed the shooting of Club Blood yesterday and I would like to give a statement," I said.

The man looked at me skeptically. "Go with the chief."

I followed the police chief into the interrogation room. "So Miss Swan. Are you here to claim that your dad is innocent?" he snarled.

"I actually got into a huge fight with my father this morning," I said, as though I was bored. "Please don't record this conversation. You can't unless I have given permission since I'm a minor and I don't have my lawyer present."

He looked at me and turned off the device. "You know your stuff. So what can I do for you?"

"Help us get the Columbians off the street," I said bluntly.

"What, so your family can have everything? I don't think so," he said.

I pulled out the pictures and evidence Edward had picked up on the way over here from Carlisle's penthouse.

"The Columbians are involved with prostitution, human trafficking and dog fighting. In my mind that is worse than just trafficking guns and drugs," I said, pointing to the next set of pictures. "There's are some major meth labs we have found in the city. See, we only deal pot and coke, not crystal."

He looked at the evidence and back at me. I knew I was lying, and I knew he was debating if he could trust me or not. "Think of it this way. We are the top predator around here. We kill and shoot, yes, but only if they try and kill us. We keep the pest levels under control. If we leave, the city will be overrun with rats. You know that the clubs our family runs are clean, thanks to your raids, but did you know that Columbian clubs are where all of the merchandise changes hands? We can't control the Columbians unless you help us. They have nothing to loose anymore and they don't care about dying. We do though. Control them, and you have got some very powerful allies in us when you want to run for sheriff's office or police commissioner. You know that should you refuse to help, we will start killing policemen if you don't drop this case. I know this all sounds bad, but do it for the greater good of Chicago," I said, turning on all of my charm.

"I think something can be arranged, Miss Swan," he said, extending his hand. I shook it eagerly.

"When my father retires, I would like to think that you and I will become allies, for good. Thank you," I said, knowing that Edward would be proud that I could turn into a seductress to seduce allies. "May I ask one thing?"

"Of course," he said, looking weary.

"May I see the information you used to brief your staff?" I asked sweetly.

He laughed and opened up a file. I began to flip through the pages. There were my bank records, my gun and knife permits, pictures, car registration and a copy of my birth certificate.

"Thank you chief," I said, one last time before rejoining Edward in the lobby. I nodded at him and he smiled and also shook hands with the chief.

_Today after the third fatal shooting, Chicago Police officials have begun to take action. It is rumored that Miss Isabella Swan, daughter of the suspect of the Club Blood shooting, Charlie Swan, was a witness and provided evidence that would change the course of the investigation, making it the priority of the police to take action against the Columbian Cartel. Seventeen members are already in custody and there is less gunfire to be heard out on the streets today. _

Edward turned off the television and hugged me. "That was an excellent idea Bella," he said.

"Now I have some real explaining to do when I get home. I'll see you tomorrow? If not I'll see you at church," I said, letting myself out of his house.

"Oh my mom wants you to know that you and your family are invited over for Sunday dinner," he said.

"That could be extremely awkward, but I'll pass along the message. Goodnight Edward," I said, climbing into my car.


	9. Chapter 9

**AN: So I received a lot of reviews about the languages. Just because a person is of one nationality, doesn't mean they only speak one language. Most Europeans speak two. I'll leave it at that. Oh, and I'm not sure what the age of consent is in Illinois, but I just put sixteen down because that's what it seems to be in most states. Also, people have suggested me getting a beta, but since I still can't figure out how the process works...(I've messaged betas asking?) if you know, can you tell me? And for those of you that leave the reviews and have followed or favorited my story, a huge thank you to you all! I still don't own anything you recognize. **

Slippery People- Talking Heads

I closed the back door into the kitchen softly. It was late and I had missed dinner, opting for McDonalds with Edward instead. I knew my mom would be pissed, and I was still unsure what my punishment would be. In our extremely Catholic family, pre-marital sex was like a one way ticket to hell. It was frowned upon, but I knew that once Edward's parents were informed, shit would really begin to hit the fan.

"Isabella Marie Swan, where have you been?" came the accusing voice of my father from the breakfast bar.

"Out with Edward," I said, crossing my arms and leaning against the wall, mimicking Edward's oh so casual 'I don't give a fuck' pose.

"I called Edward's parents," he continued. "You still aren't going to school tomorrow."

"Actually I am. You see I struck a deal with the police chief and he agreed with me. Now we just have to back him financially if he wants to run for sheriff. The police are actually doing their jobs," I said, pulling out my beeping phone. "And they have the cartel leader of the Columbians in custody." There was also a text from Edward saying that I had to call him urgently. "Charlie, do you speak Spanish?"

He winced as I called him Charlie, but he shook his head. I knew he wasn't going to let me leave the room.

"Hola, has dicho que te llame?" [Hello, you said to call you?]

_Why are you speaking in Spanish Bella?_

"Charlie está en la habitación." [Charlie is in the room.]

_Listen, I told my parents, and they believe me. Carlisle said that if Charlie becomes too much to handle, then you can stay with us. _

_"Dile gracias por mí. Yo podría llevarte a esa oferta. Me tengo que ir." _[Tell him thank you for me. I might take you up on that offer. I've got to go.]

"Thank you for talking to the police Bella. That was a very smart move. I'm sorry if what I said this morning hurt you, and I still trust you. Now, I know this is awkward, but I really hope that last night he treated you right," he said, his face turning red.

"It was fine, Charlie. You know I didn't do it for you. I have to call Rose, and then I am going to stay with the Cullens for a while. I really hate you right now," I said, sweeping out of the kitchen dramatically. I walked into my room, only to find Rose sitting on my bed.

"So you actually fucked Edward?" she said with a sly smile.

"No, I just said that to get Charlie back. Although we did sleep together," I said, trailing off and walking into my closet where I began to pack my clothes. It was so stupid how this entire situation had spiraled out of control. And just when I was beginning to get along with Alice again.

"Nice one Bella," Rose said, laughing. "Emmett and Jasper will not let you two live this down. Apparently Edward is a virgin."

I raised my eyebrows at that. "Really?"

"Don't sound so surprised. He messes around, but he stays true to his word. And all of the girls at school want him. He's known as the impossible target of the school," Rose explained.

"Where are you getting all of this information?" I asked, as I left my closet to pack my toiletries.

"Emmett of course."

"So what about you and Emmett? Can you still say that you are a virgin?" I teased. Rose turned red. "You go girl!"

"Promise not to tell Jazz? He will never let me forget that I'm not the good little girl anymore," Rose begged. Knowing Jasper, he would tease Rose constantly and make her life hell and tell Eleazar that Rose would not be a virgin until 30.

I laughed. "You'd be surprised by what Jazz tells me not to tell you as well." I smiled thinking about all of Jasper's attempted exploits and failures. In most cases, he was always unlucky enough to be cock-blocked on many occasions, but I wouldn't be surprised if he was gay.

"Cough up!" she demanded, hitting me on the arm.

"That's why I play all sides. I now know everything," I said with a grin. "I'm heading over to Edward's if you want to come and see Em. I'll meet you in my car. Here are the keys. I just have to grab a few more things."

As I headed downstairs, I heard shouting. My parents rarely argued, so I stopped outside of their door to listen.

_Charlie! How could you not tell me that? It's not a big deal. Bella is safe and she knows how to use a condom. _

_That's not the point!_

_That's precisely the point! I was hardly a virgin when we met. I've talked to Bella about all this. If you speak to the bishop about this and get him to belittle Bella in front of God and the entire church, then I will leave you. It's Bella's life in the end. And it's not a big deal! Besides, she and Edward are arranged to be married one day!_

I pulled my ear away from the door shocked. Did she really say that? I pressed my ear straining to hear more, but my mom seemed to have out argued my father. I couldn't think of anything. I couldn't even process that bit of information fully. I walked like a zombie and hopped in the car and drove Rose home, ignoring her questions and her inquiries if I was okay. I was okay, just stunned.

I pulled up outside the Cullen's house and the security guard recognized my plates, and opened the gate for me. Rose hopped out after I parked on the expansive driveway and reality finally sunk in and I whacked my hand repeatedly on the steering wheel, over and over, until it turned numb and I couldn't feel the pain anymore. I was crying, really letting all of the pent up frustration and pain from the last few weeks out. Angela's death, Charlie's betrayal and Edward. He was the main source of my misery and confusion. Charlie had my life all planned out. I wanted to show him I could rise to his expectations and become an underboss, but lately, I just wanted to be a normal teenager. This life seemed glamorous and daring to the public but in reality, it was the worst possible way to live life. I began hitting my hand again, not even noticing when my door opened and Edward grabbed my hand.

"Shhh, stop Bella," he cooed as he pulled my gently from the car. I couldn't exactly be angry at Edward directly, but I knew I had to corner Carlisle and ask him if Edward knew. I became aware of the pain as Edward carried me easily into the house. "My father has taken care of Garrett, but he hasn't admitted to everything. He's just being watched very closely. Are you okay?" he asked once my cries had subsided.

"I'm just shocked," I said, wincing as I tried to wipe my eyes. Edward set me on my feet, and delicately brushed the tears off my cheeks. It was strangely intimate, but I couldn't hide from his worried green gaze.

"Shocked about what?" he asked.

I looked down and bit my lip. When I glanced back up, Edward was scowling furiously.

"What did Charlie do?" he growled. I just shook my head.

"Edward, I need to talk to your father. Alone," I said, when he tried to follow me. I knew he was shocked and quite confused, but I couldn't tell him. I had no idea what the details were and I knew I had to try and figure them out to make sense of it myself. And on top of that, I had to figure out my feelings for Edward. I texted Mamma S, the only person who I could trust to give me an honest opinion, asking her to meet me at a diner in a few hours. I knocked on the study door and Carlisle opened it.

"Bella, what can I do for you?" he asked, gesturing for me to sit in one of the chairs on the other side of his dark wooden desk.

"I know about the arranged marriage." The smile dropped from Carlisle's gorgeous features.

"How did you find out?"

"I heard my parents arguing."

"Edward doesn't know and he won't be allowed to know until he turns eighteen."

"Alright then." There was nothing else to say, so I dismissed myself. I was drained, and I went to get my bags from the car and I got ready for coffee and diner food with Mamma S.

Edward remained quiet while he was wrapping my hand tenderly. "Bella, I know it must be something really bad if you can't tell me, but please don't block me out," he said.

"You are part of it Edward, and I can't tell you. No matter how much I want to," I said, resigned. He finished wrapping my hand and walked away without another word.

"So how are you doing Bella?" Mamma S asked me from the other side of the table. Her white hair was in an elegant french twist and she was wearing a gorgeous forest green dress. She was glamours and dressed to the nines.

"I learned about the arranged marriage," I said. She placed her fork down.

"You father is a very slippery, sneaky person Bella. This was arranged as soon as Charlie realized that he was having a daughter. For the longest amount of time he craved peace with the Irish for his own safety, nothing else. You may not have noticed, but he has become less admirable over the years. He thinks that if he steps down, Eleazar will take over his role and you will become the underboss. The union between you and Edward will put pressure on Carlisle to hand over the reigns, and then Jasper will take over. But Charlie has been under the impression for many years that he will be able to control and groom you into the underboss he wants you to be, so you can still do your bidding. He told me this many years ago, so I don't know if his plans have changed."

"I will not do what Charlie wants me to. I handled the Jacob situation and the Columbians without any help. Is it bad that I really hate Charlie right now?"

"No, it will just help you become your true self. And I must warn you. Do not get attached to Edward too soon. Undoubtedly, he will try and fight it. But also, your sister is under the impression that since she caught you and Edward, that she has a chance with him. Now, I'm not saying that to spark a disagreement again, but I want you to be wary. And you should be. Where you are in life comes with consequences, drastic ones in the very least, and you need to look out for yourself over and above anyone else."

The rest of dinner was spent talking about the girls at my school and laughing at the fashion faux pas. I loved Mamma S and she always had a way of putting things in perspective for me. I knew tomorrow at school would be tough, but I just hoped and prayed that I would be ready.


	10. Chapter 10

**AN: So right now there are no words. Thank you to the person that added my story to a community and for all of the reviews! I can't believe I've reached this many follows and favs, so thank you to everyone. I agree with a lot of you when you say that Bella should tell Edward, but we will just have to wait and see. Again, I apologize for the wait; I reached a block and high school started again. Yay. I still don't own anything you recognize. **

No Distance Left to Run- blur

I headed home after the late night diner run with Mamma S. Edward was pissed at me, and I knew I couldn't tell him, no matter how much I wanted to. He cared about me, more than I realized, so by keeping my feelings silent, I guess I hurt him. I spent the entire night tossing and turning.

My alarm clock rang shrilly and I began to process of getting ready for the day. I knew that I had to look the part, no matter how awful I was actually feeling. I felt confident in fancy shorts and a blue oxford button up and my trusty Chloe flats. The concealer however was caked on, and after many layers, it didn't look half bad. Or so I told myself. I grabbed a to-go mug of coffee and I was out the door in record time. I drove slowly to school, listening to calming music that settled me. As I pulled into my reserve parking space, my stomach dropped. Edward was standing very close to Tanya, their faces close together, and their bodies were almost touching. It crushed me. And that was the moment that I realized that I had, in fact, fallen for Edward Cullen.

I sat in my car until I heard a knock on my window and looked up at Jasper.

"You okay Bella?" he asked, genuinely concerned.

I sighed. "So Edward and Tanya, huh?"

"I have no idea what's gotten into him. She's such a bitch and a whore. God, I though Edward was actually smart. But then again, he does have needs," Jasper said, smirking. "And I heard that you two were sleeping together."

"Oh shut it, Jazz. You know Rose told you what really happened," I said.

"Rose said you were really weird last night. What happened to your hand?" his face changed to one of worry as he spied the splint and bandage.

"I whacked it on the steering wheel. Multiple times, actually," I said, getting out of the car. Tanya saw me and smiled, a smile of domination that was more of a sneer, and pecked Edward on the cheek. Edward turned and his eyes locked with mine, but they were void of emotion. I sent back the same impassive gaze. Jasper was right. Edward did have needs, I knew Mamma S was right about him wanting to fight it. He could never be married to someone that would end up working for him. It wasn't right and it would be a struggle. I hated myself for believing that I actually stood a chance.

"Hardcore Bella. Hardcore," Jazz said as he linked elbow with me as we sauntered past Tanya and Edward. Seeing Jasper and I cozy together, caused them both to glare at us. After Edward, Jasper was the next most desirable male at school.

I kept my eyes focused on the Spanish test in front of me and surprisingly finished before Edward, earning full marks as usual. Seniora smiled at me as she handed it back to me with a big A at the top. I avoided Edward's gaze as I made my way back to my seat, knowing that cold green eyes would meet me, instead of the ones dancing with happiness. It would tear my heart apart even more. I dug out my phone and I saw a text from Alice.

_Tanya is coming over later. She wants to talk to you. I wonder what that could be about, slut. _

I immediately texted Jasper, asking if he could come over after school. I had a plan and I knew that I would need his help to pull it off. He responded, asking if he could bring his friend Riley Volturi. Jasper promised me that he was nothing like his sister and he was homeschooled while training to become a capo. I decided to skip out of my last class and I headed home to prepare everything that I would need.

I looked at myself in the mirror and was packing a black duffle bag when Jasper walked in. "I grabbed the stuff. Are you ready?"

"There's a first time for everything, huh? Did you text Alice?" I asked, as Jasper and I walked downstairs.

"She and Tanya are already en route. Tanya will be at the mall and Alice will be in the coffee shop. Riley is setting everything up," Jazz explained as we climbed into the car. "That's them now."

I watched as a silver Ford pulled up at the house and Alice rushed inside. She returned without her school bag and just a purse. "I can't believe Alice thinks that Edward actually wants to meet up with her," Jasper said, laughing as he pulled out and followed the Ford.

"You would be extremely surprised about the things Alice chooses to believe," I said, laughing.

The car ride to the mall was uneventful and comfortable, despite the fact that the future could become extremely ugly. There was a sense of calmness and serenity that I always felt around Jasper. He always knew exactly what to say, and what to do to calm any situation down. He would be a great consigliere for that reason; having the ability to calm Edward down. Jasper parked the car and hopped out, preparing a syringe.

"Let's get this bitch," he said, beginning to walk briskly. We caught up with Tanya after she split up with Alice and before she could do anything, Jasper had injected her in the side with the tranquilizer. I grabbed one of Tanya's arms as did Jasper and we walked her back to car and shoved her in the trunk of the black SUV that had pulled up next to us. I glanced around and realized that no one had noticed us.

"Bella, this is Riley," Jasper said, turning around in the passenger seat to face me as we began to speed out of the parking lot. I glanced up to see the gorgeous profile of a god with a profile that could rival Edward's. I was stunned. He looked nothing like Kate, with her badly dyed hair and heavily lined eyes and pug-like face.

"Hey Riley," I said, feeling the butterflies in my stomach.

"Hey Bella. I heard about your stunt with the Columbians and the police. I think I'll be happy working for you soon," he said, his voice musical and enthrallingly perfect. I didn't exactly know how to respond to that, and Jasper just rolled his eyes at me. We all fell into an uncomfortable silence.

We continued to drive through Chicago and I became more and more worried that Tanya would wake up.

"How long will she be under for?" I asked Jasper.

"We are nearly there, and she should be coming to in about five minutes," he said, as the car pulled up outside of an abandoned warehouse. Jasper hopped out before Riley could even turn off the car and unlocked a chain that connected the two doors. He pulled one open and Riley drove through and Jasper closed it behind him. Riley parked and Jasper went to unload Tanya.

It was an enormous run down warehouse, water on the floor, broken windows towards the ceilings and rusty corrugated metal everywhere. In the exact center of the room was a chair with built in restraints, something that would have been used in an asylum. It was a pretty creepy piece of furniture on its own. I grabbed my black duffle bag and walked over to the chair, setting the bag down and pulling on black leather gloves, similar to the ones Riley was pulling on as he walked towards me.

"Jazz says we are going to use her as leverage, but also get her to leave your future fiancé alone," Riley said, winking at me.

"Very funny. Edward will not marry me," I said, pulling out a rolled leather case that contained pliers and various other sparkling tools.

"Edward would be crazy to not want to marry you. So many guys would jump at the chance, myself included," Riley said, his eyes blazing with sincerity. I looked away, clearing my throat, unsure how to respond. I cleared my head and began to focus on the task at hand, strapping one skanky bitch into the chair.

"Well Tanya, it's nice of you to join us here," I said, as her eyes slowly focused and opened. She realized she was gagged and was restrained, and her eyes went wide with fear. "We need to have a little chat."

"You see Tanya, your Daddy has done some very bad things and we know you are helping him. I mean, I help my father, and Bella helps her's, so you should be helping yours. Is there anything you'd like to tell us?" Jazz asked sickly, sweetly. Her eyes narrowed with defiance, and she shook her head.

"Oh sweetie, you shouldn't try to play tough," Riley chimed in, and Tanya looked shocked that he would be helping us.

"You see Tanya, your father has had it out for my father since the beginning. Even though we are both Italians. Your father is a jealous son of a bitch and when I was born, that just intensified. He got your mother pregnant. Did you know who she really was?" I asked, sinking my claws in. I knew that causing Tanya emotional pain would be less traumatizing than physical if I didn't dive too deep. She shook her head.

"You see, your precious Daddy raped a prostitute. And I bet since you were little you hate me, but you don't know why that started," I said. "Now Tanya, your mother was a whore. And you, quite frankly are one too."

She was crying now and it was time to move on. "I know your father wants to kill me. I know what he's done. So now you get to talk. Say the truth and we won't hurt you," I said, taking out her gag.

"I don't know anything!" she screamed hysterically. I pulled out a long knife and held it to her throat and cocked an eyebrow. "Alright! Alright! He was behind Angela and the Columbians. He hates you Bella. He wants me to be everything you are, but I'm not. He hates me."

She was sobbing now and I nodded to Riley who dialed his phone and made a brief call. "That's all I needed to know Tanya. We will keep you safe from your father. Oh, and stay away from Edward. We have an arranged marriage and if you get in the way, I'll be forced to kill you," I said. "I hate to do this, but you do not want to be awake when we kill your father."

I punched her. Hard, probably fracturing my hand again. The warehouse door opened and another SUV pulled in. Emmett hopped out and pulled a bound and gagged Garrett Denali out of the trunk. Emmett threw him on the floor, and drove off. I sauntered up to Garrett and pulled the duct tape off his mouth.

"Is she dead?" he asked.

"Just knocked out," I responded as I loaded my gun.

"Damn whore," he swore and I lost it. I shot the entire round of ammo into his godless body and climbed into the car were Riley and Jasper were waiting for me. "Nice one Bell," Jazz said. "How do you manage to shoot so you never get dirty with their blood? The boys will be back later to clean up this fucking mess."

I woke up, finally free of stress until I remembered that I had to go to school today and deal with the fallout of Garrett's death. Fuck. My hand was in a cast and my arm was in a sling, constituting the need for literally another pair of hands to get through the school day. Wearing a simple grey sundress and my hair down, I headed downstairs to my car, only to be met with an unfamiliar sleek silver BMW M6 Gran Coupe. Riley hopped out and grinned.

"I thought you could use the help and I have nothing better to do, until, well, until you get your cast off," he said.

"That would be useful. Thank you Ri," I said, handing my stuff to him and climbing into his car. We drove off to school to begin another day that I knew would bring drama. But at least I was queen.


	11. Chapter 11

**AN: Again thank you all so much for the love! 101 favorites- I am absolutely floored! By far my favorite review came from 01katie: "Can't wait for more please update ASAFP." And since this story is flowing again, I will try to pump it out. And your reviews are so so so incredibly helpful and I really do try to take them all into consideration. But, I'm headed back to England again, yes just after my summer trip, so I can't promise regularity. I still don't own anything you recognize. **

Boom- Anjulie

I was sitting in Riley's car, watching students mill around and look at the sleek car that was parked in my space. And I saw the trademark copper hair over the heads of the shorter students and the drool coming out of the mouths of other girls. As he came into view, his face was full of obviously contained fury. It was badly masked, a first for Edward Cullen, the king of indifference. Somehow a sick, twisted smile formed on my face at the wrath that was directed at me through Edward's eyes. I wasn't stupid to get Edward this angry at me on purpose, but there was something deep down in me that reveled in the satisfaction of his emotions getting the best of him and the possibility that he could feel at least one type of emotion towards me, even if it wasn't the one I would have originally wanted.

I knew a future together in a romantic sense would be impossible, and I kept telling myself that. It was easy to fall in love, but falling out of love was harder. Especially when dealing with unrequited love.

"You know you could always run away from him," Riley said, cutting through the silence in the car.

"I think it would only make things worse. I am so pissed at my father right now. My grandmother was right about him using me as his personal puppet," I said, looking at him out of the corner of my eye. "It's nice to know that someone understands."

"You know how I feel Bella. It's probably impossible, but just remember that there are many people that care about you, and not because they are forced to."

Riley was so honest, so daring for putting himself out there, and I knew I could never ask him for anything. One day he would be my capo and I knew he would do anything for me and it could get him killed. I smiled at him before kissing his cheek and climbing out of the car. Riley hopped out the other side with my bag. As soon as he stood next to me, a hush fell over the normally buzzing student car park. I turned and I saw Edward's fist ramming into Riley's jaw. Acting on instinct, I threw up my leg right into Edward's groin before he made contact. Edward doubled over, but not before maliciously glaring at both of us, almost growling with anger. His green eyes were the darkest I had ever seen them.

"Keep your fucking hands off her," Edward growled in Gaelic. The sound of high heels approaching made me turn and find myself face to face with an incredibly angry Rosalie.

"Bella, what the actual fuck is going on with you?" she all but yelled at me. I shook my head, and knew that if I said anything, I would breakdown.

"Panther, talk to me," she pleaded, grabbing my hand in her's, her tone softening.

"I can't Rose. I want to but I can't," I said.

"Since when has that stopped you? I'm really trying here Bella, but you dropped me off at my house, completely numb, you ignore all of my calls and texts and the next time I see you, your hand is broken, and Edward is furious with you."

"I can't Rose, I'm sorry. This time, I really can't," I said softly as I watched heartbreak flicker across my best friend's face.

"What happened to sisters?" she asked softly before turning around and walking into school with Emmett.

The passed slowly. Very slowly. I couldn't bear the thought of facing everyone in the cafeteria, so I spend lunch in the library curled up with a book, trying to escape Riley's attentiveness. His liking me increased my guilt tenfold and I knew I would have to shake him off somehow. And to make matters worse, Alice was obviously flirting with Edward since Tanya was no where to be seen either. But the thing that riled me up was the fact that Edward was going along with it.

Just as I was about to climb into Riley's car, a hand shot out to keep the door shut. I closed my eyes, knowing it was Edward, and I turned around to face hime.

"Please move your hand."

"No. I'll drive you home."

"I don't really trust you right now."

Riley's door popped open. "I think you heard Bella."

"Stay the fuck out of this Riley. You don't know anything about us."

"Riley, it's clear Edward wants to yell at me, so why don't I go with him to get this over and done with?" I looked between both gorgeous men and I couldn't help but feel like this was a battle for territory. I opened to back door with my good hand, pulled out my bag and balanced it precariously before stalking off towards Edward's car.

"Bella! You don't have to leave with him!" I turned back to look at Riley's frantic face and instantly guilt whipped me.

"I need to talk to him Ri. I'm sorry." I turned away from his anguished gaze, feeling the guilt from the entire situation weigh down on me. I needed to remember to rip my father a new one for this.

I knew Edward was following me because as I was close enough to his car for it to automatically unlock when I pulled on the passenger door handle. I slid into the car awkwardly and heard Edward climb into the other side.

We didn't talk for what seemed like an eternity. I felt like a scolded child going to the principal's office at school, event though I had nothing to merit Edward's anger towards me. By the end of drive to the beach of the lake, I was shaking with anger.

It was a cloudy day, and early morning, so the sandy lake front was empty and I was beyond angry. I climbed out of the car, albeit awkwardly. I stormed towards the calm lake and stopped only just at the edge where the light waves were lapping at the sand, drastically different from the pacific ocean in La Push. I didn't hear Edward approach me.

"What the fuck did you do Bella?" he whispered softy.

"What did I do? How the fuck am I supposed know what I've done when all you want to do is kill me? So enlighten me Edward, what has my existence done?" I screamed back at him, taking him by surprise.

"WHAT DID YOU DO TO TANYA?" he roared back, slamming knifes into my heart.

"I DON'T KNOW, MAYBE I KILLED HER FUCKING FATHER?" I screamed back at him. "WHY DO YOU CARE ABOUT THAT TRAMP EDWARD? FOR ONE SECOND I THOUGH, I HOPED THAT YOU AND I MIGHT GET ALONG, BUT EVERY TIME I GET TO THAT STAGE, YOU DO SOMETHING TO FUCK ME OVER!" I was so close to blurting out that I thought we could be together, but he didn't need to know that.

"MAYBE I ACTUALLY LIKED HER BELLA! SHE DOESN'T GO AROUND TORTURING PEOPLE!" he screamed, taking a low dig at the life I was born into.

"YOU MOTHERFUCKER! I FOUND OUT THAT GARRETT DENALI WAS BEHIND EVERYTHING, AND HE HAS BEEN TAKEN CARE OF. CLEANLY I MIGHT ADD, SO DON'T SAY THAT I HAVE A CHOICE IN MY LIFE. I AM MY FATHER'S PAWN AND HE HAS BEEN USING ME FOR YEARS AND WILL CONTINUE TO DO SO!"

"CARLISLE TOLD ME TO GET CLOSE TO TANYA TO GET IT OUT OF HER THAT WAY, BUT NOW SHE HAS DISAPPEARED, GARRETT IS DEAD AND I'M GETTING BLAMED FOR IT WHEN YOU WERE THE ONE TO FUCK IT UP!"

"SCREW YOU EDWARD CULLEN! YOU ARE NO SAINT! I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU!"

"IF YOU WEREN'T SUCH A JEALOUS BITCH, BELLA, NONE OF THIS WOULD HAVE HAPPENED!" He spat my name out like it was venom, and he was actually scaring me.

"DON'T CALL ME A BITCH WHEN NONE OF THIS IS IN MY CONTROL!"

"YOU CAN FUCKING CONTROL WHO YOU ARE AROUND YOU KNOW!"

"OH LIKE I CAN CONTROL THE FACT THAT I AM GOING TO BE MARRIED TO YOU ONE DAY?" I cursed myself as I saw Edward's face fall into shock.

"What?"


	12. Chapter 12

**AN: Did I mention how much I love reading the reviews you guys leave for me? It's amazing and I love reading them all, even the ones that criticize, so thank you so much! I wish that you guys had profiles so I could respond personally. But no matter. So after Bella's faux pas, shit really does hit the fan. I still don't own anything you recognize. **

White Lines- Grandmaster Flash

My Body- Young the Giant

Edward was just staring at me shocked. Literally frozen. Snapping my fingers in front of his eyes didn't even disturb him from his deep, trance-like state.

"EDWARD!" I screamed at him, not caring that we were no longer the only two people on the beach anymore. He blinked a few times, his face more impassive, the wall in place again.

"Excuse me," he muttered, before shoving past me and hopping into his car and driving away before I even had a chance to stop him. My hands were shaking, and I was scared, really scared. I disobeyed Carlisle and just ruined Edward's life.

Before my brain had even registered my actions, I was listening to Rosalie's wind-chime voice and her gentle coos and her asking me where I was. Somehow I managed to blubber it out through the tears and she stayed on the phone with me for the next twenty minutes, listening to me rant about what happened while crying. I heard Jasper's car in the distance and never felt more loved by anyone than I did in that moment.

She helped me into the warm confines of Jasper's car, buckling me up since my hands were shaking to much.

"Bella, did Edward hurt you?" she asked, and I knew she didn't mean emotionally. I shook my head.

"Carlisle!" I managed to squeak out and Rose got the hint, seeing the fear and frantic actions of drawing my finger across my throat. Thinking about how I took the lid off the entire can of worms and created this mess, sent me into a full blown anxiety attack, and black spots began to appear in front of my vision before everything went dark and I couldn't hear anything.

I was warm. Much too warm in fact to be comfortable. I struggled to open my eyes, and as I blinked back the darkness and began to focus on my surroundings, the reality of what had just happened, hit me full force. Seeing Rose's normal room, and looking around, I could relax. I heard the soft click of the door opening and I saw Rosalie enter the room, and saw the relief that flooded her face as she saw that I was finally awake.

"Bella, what happened?" she asked, as she settled herself on the bed and took my hand.

I was numb inside, far to shocked and afraid to show any emotion. "My parents arranged that I would marry Edward, well Charlie did, before I was even born. I killed Tanya's dad because he was guilty of everything. Jazz, Riley and I roughed her up a bit and banished her, and Edward was so pissed at me for doing so because he has obviously shown his true feelings for her. I fought with Edward, and accidentally told him that we were arranged to be married, and he left me on the beach."

Rose's forehead crinkled with worry and she squeezed my hand tighter. "Bella, it will all be okay. You want to know why I think Edward was pissed? He wanted to handle the Tanya situation and fuck Garrett up himself and prove to everyone he is the boss. But you went around him, were faster and more effective. Plus he knows deep down that he would have had to have slept with Tanya and toy with her heart, which he can't do if he is married in the future. Also, she could blackmail him with that, and she would instantly paint a target on his wife's head. Also, I think he was pretty pissed that Jasper dragged Riley into all of this. Edward doesn't trust him and neither does Emmett, but Riley is incredibly loyal to Jazz, so those two put up with him for that reason."

"I don't know what to think anymore Rose. Everything has changed; I can't trust my father to even look out for me anymore, Carlisle is bound to punish me, Edward hates me and I have to obey him now. It's all a mess," I said, starting to cry again.

"Bella, everything will be alright. It may take time, but it will get better. Change is necessary, but it's better that Edward crushed you now, rather than later when you might completely be in love with him."

"But I think I already do love him."

"Oh Bella," she said, pulling me into a hug and letting me let go.

After what seemed like ages, I managed to pull myself together and I rubbed my eyes as I glanced at Rose's now tear-stained silk blouse.

"Sorry," I mumbled, hoarsely.

"Don't apologize Bella. You would do the same for me. Let's go out, have a few drinks and dance. I know it's probably the last thing you want to do right now, but it might be a good distraction from current events," Rose said, with an impish grin.

After being shoved into her steaming shower and protests and treats of blackmail, Rose had successful squeezed me into a tight navy blue dress that had practically no back, unless the lace overlay of the dress counted. I had to admit, she was amazing at covering my red and puffy eyes and the dress really did show off my body. And she pushed me out of my comfort zone once again, by choosing a dress I would never be caught dead it. She knew what she was doing, and that I would probably feel better establishing my place as princess of the club and receiving attention from everyone. However, Rose looked sinful in her tight red dress and diamond cross pendant, a perfect gesture that would be turning many heads tonight as well. I was curious to find out how Rose would handle all of the attention, since she was now a tied down woman.

We arrived outside of the club. I took no notice of the name, but I knew that it was one of ours as we were waved right in despite all of the protests from the crowd that was waiting at the door.

The energy inside was incredible, people writhing their bodies to the thumping bass of the music that seemed to be drifting out of all of the cracks in the horizontal wooden boards. The club had a warehouse feel to it; reclaimed wood and a concrete bar added to that sense. As Rose and I began our walk towards the bar, I could feel people watching us, almost mesmerized by our confidence and, of course our looks.

"What can I get you lovely ladies?" the bartender asked, glancing more than once at our slightly exposed cleavage.

"A double shot of your best scotch, straight," I said, turning to Rose, who was looking at one of the booths on the other side of the bar frowning at who ever was occupying one of the VIP tables.

"The same, please," she said, not taking her eyes off that table.

"You guys really think you can handle our best?" the bartender asked, skeptically.

"My father owns this club and he would hate to find out that his employees second guess their customers," I said, pulling out a fifty dollar bill to cover our drinks. He shrugged and returned from the other side of the bar serving the VIP clientele with glasses full of the amber liquid. As soon as we had our drinks, Rose dragged me over to the entrance to the VIP area, and downed her drink. I raised my eyebrows as I took a large gulp, hardly tasting it, as I noticed the copper hair and Emmett facing us.

Rose approached the bouncer and smiled, pulling out her ID, and the bouncer unclipped the rope and waved us in. She took no prisoners as she marched over to their table. As we approached, I saw two lines of powder in front of Emmett and I cringed, fearful of what Rose would do or say.

"FUCK YOU EMMETT CULLEN! YOU MOTHERFUCKER!" Rose screamed. "ARE YOU DEAD OR SOMETHING? HOW FUCKING STUPID ARE YOU?"

Emmett looked up, shocked and quickly brushed the remaining cocaine into a napkin and looked sheepish. I refused to look at the person sitting opposite him.

"Bella, I'm going home. Can you handle this for me? Please?" Rose said, tears streaming down her face.

"Of course," I said, pulling her into a hug. "Just get Sasha to take you home. Love you."

She smiled sadly at me before slapping Emmett across the face and leaving. Emmett stood up and tried to follow her, but I shoved him back down.

"Sit the fuck down Emmett, and listen. You broke Rose's heart. You broke my trust. I used to trust you with my life, but I can't anymore with you being high," I pulled out my phone and texted Charlie, knowing that Carlisle would probably kill his own son for being so stupid. I put my phone away and turned back. "Here's what's going to happen. Charlie is coming and he will ship you off to rehab. I don't care if this was your first hit, but you are never getting anymore. You will go quietly. You will come back in a month, maybe a year, and you will leave Rose alone for good. No letters, no calls, no texts, no communications. Got it?"

I stood, glaring at a crying Emmett for a good ten minutes before the lights turned on and people started filing out signaling Charlie's arrival. People missed our altercation thanks to the dark and the music and the complexity of the Gaelic we were speaking in.

Charlie approached, flanked by two of his most trusted solidati and they grabbed Emmett and hauled him away.

"Thank you for coming to me first Bella," he whispered to me in Italian as he pulled me into a hug. "Rose filled me in on everything. I'm sorry Bella, I truly am. I only want what's best for you."

"I love you too Daddy."

"Never doubt my love for you Bella." And with that he was gone. I closed my eyes, and turned to face the other Cullen brother who was silent through the whole ordeal. I slid into Emmett's previously occupied place.

Edward looked worse for wear. His eyes were bloodshot and tear filled.

"And you have to be kidding me," he muttered. "Why did you send her, God?"

"We need to talk," I said.

"Says every girl," he said, looking into his empty glass.

"I'm sorry I went after Tanya behind your back," I said simply.

He looked up, surprised. "You're actually apologizing for doing something to protect me from myself?"

I raised an eyebrow and he shrugged. "Yes, I am."

"Never apologize to me Bella. You don't owe me anything."

"I owe you an explanation. I shouldn't have told you like that. Fuck, I shouldn't have told you at all."

"I'm glad you did."

There was a pause.

"I knew this would be a problem. Now that you know, nothing can ever be the same, and you are going to fight it," I said, my eyes filling with tears again.

"You want to know what the real problem is Bella?" he asked, suddenly angry and throwing his glass on the floor and jumping up. "Now, if I want do do something for you, anything, it will seem like I am forced to do it, not because I actually love you."

"What?" I whispered.


	13. Chapter 13

**AN: Well you asked, so I will deliver. Despite my busy schedule. I just got back from England again! Hold the applause ;) Thank you for the reviews! And I also want to strangle Edward too sometimes. I still don't own anything you recognize. And there will be lots of songs too (in order). **

For You- Angus and Julia Stone (This is an incredible song)

Shopping for Blood- Franz Ferdinand (If I had to choose my favorite song ever, this comes close)

The New Stone Age- Orchestral Maneuvers in the Dark and Warren Zevon

I Could Have Lied- Red Hot Chili Peppers

I sat, watching Edward as he sat with his hands coving his face and his elbows resting on the table. A man with a broom walked slowly by, sweeping up the glass and turning around to continue sweeping the floor. I couldn't help but admire the thick muscles and bulging veins that crawled up his arms. I couldn't help but imagine those arms on either side of my head- I blushed at that thought, especially since his arms were so clenched now. Shaking my head clear of those thoughts, I tentatively tried to figure out how to broach the elephant that was currently running wild in the room. It was the fact that Edward used the word love and me in the same sentence.

"Edward, what do you mean by 'actually love you'?" I whispered. I watched as he sighed, took a deep breathe and lowered his hands ever so slowly to rest on the table. He looked at me bluntly, his eyes full of emotion, murky and deep green, not the sparkling emerald orbs that often left me breathless.

"Isabella Marie Swan," he sighed sensually. Wether his tone was intentional or not, I left me squirming. I was sitting there for what seemed like an eternity, silently begging him to continue, when he took a deep breathe. "I don't know how to say this or what to do in this situation. You know that."

I nodded, silently begging him to continue.

"You will work for me soon. It will be my job to protect you, guide you and mold you into what I need you to be. And apparently, I'll need you to be my wife. But you won't play the role of the dutiful wife in the future. And, I have no fucking idea how to react to that. You know what a wife does in this family. They stay at home, cook dinner, have kids and look pretty. But with you, I have to protect you while trying to make this entire family work," he said, looking at his interlocked hands.

"Edward, you know that I will do whatever it takes to make everything easier for us," I said, feeling my heart break ever so slightly as I thought of the possibility of not having Edward in my life.

"I want you in my life Bella. I just don't know what role you will play," he said, obviously sharing my sentiment. I smiled sadly at him and patted his hand. "We have to go and kill that fucker that sold Emmett those drugs."

"Because that will clear my head," Edward said, sliding out of the booth and offering me his hand. I wobbled up onto my feet and enjoyed the fact that I could nearly look him in the eye. I let his hand go, and headed towards the back exit with him trailing behind me."

* * *

After four hours of hunting, we finally had a lead that seemed to be the end trail to all of the dealers' stories and connection. It was four am and I was exhausted, but I felt I had to do this, if not for Emmett, then for all of the other people with addictions he was supplying.

Edward had turned off his headlights as we began to drive into one of the rougher parts of town that was controlled by gangs, not the mafia. In Chicago, it was the mob on top, and the gangs had connections too us, but they would run away scared if it came down to an actual fight. And driving an Aston would certainly draw unwanted attention. It was no surprise that Emmett bought from a guy with gang connections. All the dealers affiliated with us knew we would kill them and that their families would also be at risk, especially since it was Carlisle's son.

We stopped outside of a run down apartment complex, stained concrete and broken sidewalks and it was dirty, illuminated by to pools of yellow light that came down off the top of the building. Edward reached down in front of my legs and popped open the gun compartment a pulled out two guns. He looked at me and I glanced into his eyes and gave a slight nod. It was time for a performance.

He pistol whipped me, not hard, but just enough to cause my nose to start bleeding and I tried to make myself cry and I rubbed my eyes to smudge my eye makeup. He ripped the top of my dress and I kicked off one of my shoes. I messed up my hair and got out of the car. It was a brisk night and I held onto my clutch and covered the gun with it. I staggered up to the door and began to knock on it frantically. It cracked open and I let my words tumble out.

"Help me!" I cried out, as the door opened wider to reveal a middle aged man with tattoos and the tattoo of a cross on his earlobe. "He's going to get me!"

"Come inside sugar," he said, leering at my exposed cleavage. I wearily stepped through the threshold and I saw Edward catch the door and hold onto it, so it would slam, but the metal wouldn't engage. I looked around the living room at the drug paraphernalia all over the place and the empty beer bottles. The stench was horrific.

"You wanna call someone?" he asked.

I shook my head. "I have no one to call."

He grinned lazily and I saw the glassiness in his eyes. "We could use more girls like you."

"For what?" I asked, doing my best to look scared and play the part of a damaged girl.

"I mean, you could be useful," he said pulling out a gun. "Don't move, sugar. I need to call the boss."

I glanced up nervously, and quietly released the safety on my gun. I slipped my finger onto the trigger and I kept looking around nervously, and tried to pull up my dress. He lumbered back into the room and began talking on his cell phone.

"Yo, boss? I got a potential. She's good. I mean, we need a runner like her-" he was cut off as an arm wrapped around his neck and I recognized Edward's shirt. The phone fell to the ground as the guy slipped and began to struggle and fight a losing battle against the strength of Edward. I picked up the phone and heard the confusion.

"Listen. This is Isabella Swan, daughter of Charlie Swan. You know who I am, don't you? If not, this is a warning. Never mess with my family. Next time, there will be more bloodshed. And you will be next. If you don't know who I am, ask around and see for yourself." I hung up the phone and wiped if down on my dress, before smashing it with my heel. I nudged it under the guy's dead body as Edward shot him three times in the back with his gun. I could hear the sound of the air whipping past the bullets, and something about having a silencer made it seem just that much more deadly.

Edward nodded at me, and he took my hand and led me back to the car before calling to cops and saying he heard gun shots. We both knew that the police would be happy that another drug dealer would be off the street and I smiled at him tentatively.

The ride back to my house was quiet, both of us wrapped us in our own thoughts. It was still hard to watch someone die; watch the life slowly flicker out of their eyes. How Edward could kill so personally, without a weapon scared me. Was he really that ruthless? Deep down, I knew that he must have feelings about killing, but he never let them surface and that scared me.

He pulled into the driveway and turned off the engine.

"I'll walk you in," he said.

"You don't have to. It's late and we have school tomorrow," I said softly, not meeting his gaze, but secretly pleased that he would be so chivalrous.

"Are you okay after today?" he asked as we meandered slowly up the path and towards the front door.

"I guess. I'm a little less freaked out, but I still feel so guilty," I said, biting my lip and looking away.

"He would have had killed you Bella. or sold you, or raped you. It was a life or death situation. And we went there for that reason. To kill him for what he did for Emmett."

"I know, but it still makes me cringe. I have killed one man and have been the accomplice of many, not to mention the fact that I caused the explosion and burned down Jacob's house," I said, suddenly remembering that I was the cause of ten deaths from that horrific day. Realization crashed over me and I fought back tears. How was I supposed to be a leader if I couldn't deal with death?

"Bella, shh. It's okay. Just lock it away. Don't think about it," Edward said, engulfing me in a hug. His scent overwhelmed me and I relaxed into his embrace, furiously blinking back tears. I pulled away and wiped my eyes.

"I'm okay. I'll see you tomorrow?" I said, putting up the defenses and pulling on a brave face.

"Yes. Good night Bella," he said, and with that he walked down the path and drove away.

I unlocked the front door and immediately stiffened at the sound of shouting and thuds and the smash of glass. I pulled out my gun again and slipped of my shoes before running towards my father's office. I stalled as I put my ear against the sliding door.

"IS THAT ALL YOU HAVE TO SAY? 'I'M SORRY'? YOU KNOW WHAT I DID FOR YOU AND YOUR PARENTS. YOU KNOW YOUR PLACE, YET YOU BETRAYED ME AND THEN LED ME TO BELIEVE THAT SHE IS MY BIOLOGICAL DAUGHTER? YOU ARE NOTHING BETTER THAN A COMMON WHORE!" I heard my father scream.

"YOU KNOW WHAT? I WONDER WHY I HAD TO FIND SOMEONE ELSE TO LOVE OTEHR THAN YOU. I'M SO HAPPY THAT ALICE IS NOT YOUR DAUGHTER, MAYBE IT WILL BE GOOD FOR HER! I HATE WHAT YOU HAVE BECOME CHARLIE! I'M LEAVING AND I WANT A FUCKING DIVORCE!" my mother screamed back.

"You know that you can't get a divorce from me," Charlie said softly.

"Is that a threat. So help me god if that is a threat... Fuck you Charlie. Fuck you," my mother said, and the door slid open.

"Bella?" my mother asked, both of us mirroring the other's expression of a deer caught in the headlights. I sent a contemptuous glare at the two stunned adults and ran to my room.

I slammed my door shut and locked it, breathing hard.

"Bella?" a timid voice asked from the other side of my room?

"Alice?"

"Bella, what's going on with mom and dad?" she asked, and I heard the scratchiness in her voice and knew she had been crying.

"Allie, I need to shower," I said, waving her into my bathroom. I hopped in and turned on the hot water, thankful for the fogged glass shower stall. She walked in and sat down on the toilet.

"Alice, I don't know what to say or what to do, but I think Mom and Dad might be getting a divorce," I said hesitantly.

"What? Why? They never fight or anything!" she looked shocked.

"Things aren't working out for them like the hoped." I instantly wondered if my life as Edward's wife would be full of affairs and fights.

Alice was silent, wrapped up in her own thoughts as I finished washing my hair. We went back into my bedroom and I noticed that I had twenty missed calls from Alice.

"Hey I'm sorry I didn't call you back," I said.

"I was scared. Bella, why are they doing this?" she asked, sitting across from me on my bed.

I sighed and braced myself. "Alice, Mom had a number of affairs. I shouldn't be the one to tell you this. Fuck, I don't even know how to handle this entire situation. Allie, Charlie isn't your biological father."

She looked at me and sighed. "I knew it. He doesn't treat me the same as you. He found out tonight, right?"

I looked at Alice, wondering where the naive little girl I used to know went. "Yes. Allie, I'm really sorry. I know he still loves you. He never said that he didn't. He just hates Mom right now. I've been the worst big sister for the longest time. I'm not saying this out of sympathy, but I want to apologize for everything. I don't care that you are only my half sister, I love you Allie. And know it's just us two. I'm pissed off with Dad. He threatened Mom you know."

"What?"

I spent the rest of the early morning hours with Alice, telling her everything about our family, the situation with Edward. She comforted me as I broke down about the part I had played in people's deaths.

By 6 am we were both exhausted and I went downstairs to make us both coffee and I ran into my father in the kitchen.

"Bella, you Mom left me last night. I'm really sorry you and your sister will have to go through this," he said, drying his hands on a tea towel in the kitchen. I shrugged and poured two large cups of coffee. I didn't hear Charlie leave, but when I looked over at the tea towel, I saw blood on it. Instantly my mind went into over drive, but when I saw the bloody knife resting on the chopping board in the sink I relaxed. I climbed back up to my room and grabbed my phone to call Edward and let him know that I would be taking Alice to school today. We quickly got ready for school and arrived in record time. I knew Alice was still processing all of the information, but she promised me that she would only discuss this with Rose or Jazz.

I pulled into my spot and ran to Rose, who was hiding behind dark sunglasses, just like me and the sex god that was approaching us.

"Good morning!" Jazz said sarcastically, pulling off his glasses and revealing his dark circles. "Oh Bells, Riley skipped town and told me to tell you that if you and Edward don't work out, he'll come back for you."

I didn't say anything, but I knew we could all sense the tension.

"Bella and I are half-sisters," Alice said, dropping the bomb.

Everyone turned to look at us and I clasped Alice's hand. "Charlie and my mom are getting a divorce."

Edward pulled off his glasses and shared a concerned glance with Jazz. "Bella, our father's can't get divorces."

I shook my head quickly at Edward and he shut up, realizing that Alice didn't know exactly everything. The bell rang before we could talk anymore and we all dispersed and headed to our different classed. Rose linked her arm with mine.

"Bells, have your heard from Em?"

"Charlie shipped him off to rehab last night, and we have to keep it quiet or Carlisle will literally kill him. He isn't allowed to contact anyone until he gets out," I said.

"Thank you Bella. I hate him so much, but I still love him. Is that wrong?"

"No Rose. That's perfectly normal."

* * *

The day passed uneventfully and I found myself in Spanish class with Edward. We began a quiet conversation in Gaelic about Alice.

"Listen Bella. You can't tell Alice everything. I need find out what exactly happened between Charlie and Renee from my father. You did the right thing though, telling her everything."

"I just hope I did. I worry about her and I always have. She's almost taking all of this too calmly. She's okay with the fact that her sister is a killer. Her reaction isn't normal Edward, and I'm worried about it."

He reached for my hand and the contact made me shiver. "There's nothing we can do apart from watch her a little more closely. But that's it. If she won't open up, she won't and we can't exactly force it out of her."

"Not funny, Edward," I said, scowling at his teasing face and into his mesmerizing eyes.

* * *

The ticking of the clock was the only sound in the room. I was sitting next to Alice on the couch and across from Charlie.

"Alice," he began. "I know that all of this must have come as a surprise, and I know that I haven't exactly been the best father to you, but I want to change that. With your mother gone I want to become the father you never had. I love you Alice, more than you know and more than I have ever shown you. You know Bella and I have had our ups and downs, and I want to apologize for my behavior and favoritism. You know that I have been preparing Bella for her future, but that is no excuse. Alice, you and I are going on a father daughter trip to Hawaii for a few days."

Alice smiled and jumped up to forgive him. I was pleased for her and proud that Charlie could get over the fact that she wasn't his. My mother's indiscretions would certainly rock the family and I knew that Charlie needed to get away too.

"We leave in half an hour. No bikinis," Charlie said.

"Dad," Alice groaned.

Charlie grinned at her and she rolled his eyes and I wanted to cry from the happiness. Maybe that was just the exhaustion kicking in.

I kissed them both goodbye and it warmed my heart to see them both so happy. We all promised to call if anything happened, and Charlie had the locks changed in case Renee wanted to come back. I felt like a proud parent seeing the tow of them together, with a giant weight lifted off both of their shoulders. I was so thankful that Alice was so forgiving, but I was worried deep down that something would happen. As soon as the front door closed, I called Edward.

**AN: The way Edward and Bella gained access to the dealer's house is actually a tactic used by potential robbers. It happened to us. But we caught them before one guy made it around the back and into the house. **


	14. Chapter 14

**AN: It's been a while. And I'm really sorry for that and I could make excuses about how busy my life has become, but here you go! I can't believe that I have so many followers and favorites; it's incredible to know there are that many people reading my story, so thank you, so much! I don't own anything you recognize. **

Flaws- Bastille

Edward picked up on the second ring.

"Bella, I need to talk to you. Is Charlie home?"

"I was just about to say that we need to talk," I responded, puzzled. "Charlie just left to have a weekend away with Alice."

"That motherfucking cock-sucking- sorry, Bella. I'll be there soon." He hung up and I just stood there looking dumbly at my phone. I ran back to the kitchen and looked in the sink. The knife was still there, covered in blood, and I picked it up with plastic bag and also scooped the tea towel up too. I kept replaying the moment when I walked in on Charlie, and I couldn't see a bandage or any bleeding on his hand. My head refused to believe that it was someone else's blood.

Edward caught me in a trance like state, ready to burn the bag over the trashcan. He slipped the lighter out of my hand and pulled the bag of evidence out of my grasp. I heard strange, animalistic sounds and wails. I looked around, shocked and trying to find the source of the gut-wrenching noise, and saw the pity in Edward's gaze before he wrapped his strong arms around me and his familiar scent calmed me. I then realized that it was I who was making the awful sounds. There was no way in hell that Charlie had killed my mother in cold blood, but there was that nagging feeling as I realized that all of his behavior and the evidence pointed in that direction.

I calmed down quickly, suddenly more furious and angry than anything else. "There's still one thing I have to do Edward," I said, pulling my phone out. I quickly dialed Renee's number. The number had been disconnected. I threw my phone at the wall, smashing it.

"How did you know what was going on Edward?" I asked, narrowing my eyes at him.

"I overheard Carlisle talking about Charlie's sudden departure with my mother, who talked to Renee yesterday. And that was the last time anyone in my family had heard from her," he said, looking nervous and angry, the storm clouds in his eyes gathering.

I shook my head and ran my hands through my hair, grasping at the roots as my eyes killed with tears yet again.

"What the fuck am I supposed to do now Edward?" I screamed, kicking a kitchen cabinet and putting a hole in the expensive wood. I ignored the throbbing pain as I ran outside and into my car with Edward following behind me.

"Where are you going Bella?" Edward said as he slid into the passenger's seat. "You shouldn't be driving like this."

"Fuck that. We are going to the police Edward," I said.

"Bella, calm down. If you do this everything could fall apart. Carlisle will no longer be able to trust you and everything will change," he said eyeing me suspiciously.

"What would you do if your father killed your mother, Edward?" I challenged, still seething at his attempt to prevent me from retaliating against Charlie.

"I would go to your father. And in this case Bella, you need the permission of your boss," he said sternly. I glared at him, but deep down I knew he was right. With Charlie out of the picture, I would be needed in this family as a valued leader. I let Edward get out of my car and drag me out into his car, which he promptly drove back to his house.

Carlisle's melodious voice drifted through the thick walls, as he called us into his office. I was still seething at Edward- his handling of me and the situation to come. I was not impressed and I was pissed off to say in the least.

"What can I do for you both?" Carlisle asked, his face looking tired and showing lines and age.

Edward looked towards me to prompt me to say something, and I took the lead.

"I want to go the police."

Carlisle took off his glasses, and sat upright in his leather chair. He waved at us to sit, before scrubbing his face with his hands and resting his elbows on the edge of the desk.

"Why on earth would you want to do that Bella, when you have a small army at your disposal?"

"They aren't at my disposal, and everyone is too loyal to Charlie, who, as you may or may not know has run away to Hawaii, like a coward with my half-sister."

"I wasn't aware that Alice is your half-sister. Care to explain?"

"Well, Renee's past transgressions finally caught up with her, and she was fighting with Charlie when she let it slip. Now, she is MIA, her phone was disconnected, Charlie has conveniently taken a vacation with Alice and I found a bloody knife in our kitchen sink."

"Fuck."

"Fuck indeed. Now, I want to believe the best, but right now I am so fucking pissed and sick of everyone's attitudes about this. Charlie could be innocent, and the only way to prove that is to get the police involved."

Edward cut in. "I think that if the police open up this investigation and find Alice's real father that everything could come out. Look at the facts. He killed Renee and we need to act now, or as soon as he gets back. We can't endanger Alice and we have to get Charlie out of our family now."

"Let me think this over. If either of you go behind my back, there will be ramifications that could kill this entire family. Think about that."

I glared at Edward as I pushed past him to get out of Carlisle's office.

"What the hell am I supposed to do Rose? With Charlie gone as the underboss, I'll have to drop out of school to deal with everything. Both Carlisle and your Dad are looking older than ever and without Charlie, they are on the verge of handing everything over to Jazz, Edward and I. Without Emmett here, we aren't complete and we will have to let some other fucker take his position. Fuck this!" I yelled, sweeping everything off my cluttered desk and flipping if.

"Bella you need to calm down. We don't know that your mom is dead, and we have no idea what is going on with Charlie. We don't even know if we can trust Alice yet," she said, almost hesitantly.

"What do you mean trust Alice?" I asked, feeling the anger sweep into my veins again.

"Well, she suddenly became super easy for you to get along with and has forgiven Charlie for everything. Don't you think that's only a tiny bit suspicious?"

I sank down to the floor feeling sick. "I don't know Rose. What am I supposed to do?"

Rosalie came over and wrapped me in her arms. "You have to bury this stuff deep down and go to school. You have to distance yourself from all of this. Let Carlisle and my dad handle this. Keep yourself and Edward out of the loop. It's going to get messy, and I really don't think you should get involved Bella. It's like when a doctor has to treat a family member- they aren't allowed to because of the emotional aspect."

I nodded into her chest. "Did I ever say that I want you to be my advisor when I become underboss?"

She giggled. "Us girls will have those men whipped and they will have no idea what hit them."

I trudged up my front steps, waving at Rose, who was behind the wheel of Jasper's car. She blew me a kiss and sped off, and I climbed up the back steps, only to be met with a very angry looking Edward.

"Why the fuck haven't you been answering my calls?" he seethed at me.

"Nice to see you too," I mumbled, unlocking the door and stepping around him.

"Seriously Bella! Carlisle has totally cut me out of this decision and I have no control over anything!"

"Really?" I asked, playing along.

He narrowed his eyes at me. "What did you do?"

"You know what Edward? Maybe we should let the adults handle this one, you know, get some distance and actually focus on ourselves and not trying to rip apart families and damage them more than they have been."

"Fuck Bella! You know Charlie will get away with this!" he screamed, slamming his and down on the counter top.

"Maybe I'm actually okay with that!"

Edward snarled and raised his hand, and brought it down on my cheek with a resounding slap of skin contacting skin. I fell over from the force, and Edward's face suddenly morphed into one of shock and horror.

"Oh my god Bella, I-"

"GET THE FUCK AWAY FROM ME!" I screamed, struggling to stand up, throwing Edward's persistent hands away. I reached my bag and pulled my gun out. And I pointed it at Edward.

"Bella, put the gun down," he said, walking slowly towards me. Big mistake.

I pulled the trigger and saw him collapse to the ground, a clean hole through his thigh. I walked over to him. "You never lay a hand on a woman, and you sure as fuck don't try to touch her after if you truly didn't mean it. Get your bloody leg and your motherfucking self out of my house. Asshole!"

I turned and walked away from him into the family room, eerily calm with the entire situation. I pulled out my phone, ignoring the stinging in my cheek.

"Hello?" the voice that sounded like wind chimes asked.

"Esme, I shot Edward," I said, biting my lip.

"Yes, he told me what happened," she said with a chuckle. "Thank you for making it a clean shot."

"I need to know everything you knew about my mother's affairs," I said, getting straight to the point.

She sighed. "I hate to tell you this Bella, but I actually know nothing. Your mother and I both knew that she was cheating on Charlie, but whenever I tried to bring it up, she shut me down. I'm really sorry Bella. Have you checked her safe?"

"What safe?"

"The one in her bedroom that contains her jewelry."

"No I haven't, but I will now. Thank you Esme. I'm not going to apologize for what I did to your son, but I think you understand."

"Don't worry about it Bella. I did much worse to Carlisle."

I hung up and grabbed a bag of frozen peas from the kitchen and held it to my cheek as I climbed the stairs to my parent's bedroom. I walked into the expanse that was my mother's closet and blinked back tears as I smelled her familiar perfume. I found her safe and sat in front of it, trying to figure out the possible combinations. I started with our birthdays, and I raised my eyebrows when Alice's birthday made the resounding click. I pulled the steel door open, and I saw the trays of diamonds and gold.

There was nothing. I looked back into the safe and saw a ribbon lying close to the corner of the back and the left side of the safe. I pulled it and the back of the safe opened up like a door. And there was a disposable phone laying in the empty compartment with a key that looked like it was for a lock deposit box. Yet the tag on it was French and I pulled them both out and put everything bag. On closer examination, the tag had an address for a bank in Switzerland. I knew where I was going.


End file.
